(SIKA)-West Final Report
Stability in Key Areas (SIKA)-West Final Report
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OCTOBER 2015 This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by AECOM International Development. ACKU
2 Stability in Key Areas (SIKA)-West Final Report
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The authors’ views expressed in this document do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government.
3 Name of USAID Activity: Afghanistan Stability in Key Areas (SIKA)-West
Name of Prime Contractor: AECOM International Development
Total Funding: USD $54,000,000 (for base and option periods)
Start Date: January 29, 2012
End Date: August 31, 2015
Geographic Locations: Farah Province: Farah Center, Bala Baluk, Pusht-e Rod, Khak-e-Safed, and Lash Wa Juwayn Herat Province: Pashtun Zarghun, Shindand, Kushk-e Rabat Sangi, Guzara, and Kohsan Badghis Province: Qadis, Muqur, and Qala-i-Naw Ghor Province: Chaghcharan, Shahrak, and Du Layna
Overall Goals and Objectives: SIKA-West was an initiative led by the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation & Development (MRRD) and the Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG). The SIKA-West program was designed to promote stability in key areas by assisting provincial authorities and district-level government entities to improve governance programming and increase the provision of priority basic services. The intended result of SIKA-West was to increase citizen confidence in and support for the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA).
Expected Results: • Provincial and District entities increasingly addressed sources of instability (community major problems) and take measures to respond to the population’s development and governance concerns. • Provincial and District entities understand what organizations and provincial line departments work within their geographic areas, what kind of services they provide, and how the population can access those services. • Provincial authorities improved their ability to communicate with district entities to help them better understand their population’s needs and prioritize basic delivery interventions. •ACKU Provincial authorities improved basic service delivery by using GIRoA, CDCs, DDAs, and ASOP DCCs, which gain capacity to plan, design, implement, and monitor projects, with a focus on labor- intensive projects or productive infrastructure. • Built and improved upon current administrative and service delivery knowledge and skill sets, that improve the effectiveness and resiliency of GIRoA and equip provincial and district partners with the tools necessary to address local government stabilization and governance objectives. • Gender mainstreaming programming was aligned with current IDLG, MRRD, and DoWA gender mainstreaming frameworks and guidelines and to be primarily focused on ensuring responsiveness to male and female district resident concerns with respect to basic service delivery.
i Contents
ACRONYMS III
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6
PROGRAM OVERVIEW 11
I. STABILIZATION 22
II. RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT 32
III. COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH 36
IV. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT 42
V. GOVERNANCE 48
GENDER MAINSTREAMING 56
MONITORING AND EVALUATION 62
WAY FORWARD 68 ACKU
CONTENTS ii Acronyms
ANA Afghan National Army ANP Afghan National Police ANSF Afghan National Security Forces CCI Community Cohesion Initiative CDC Community Development Council CIDD Capacity Institutional Development Directorate CLDD Community Led Development Directorate CMP Community Major Problem COP Chief of Party DAIL Department of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock DCOP Deputy Chief of Party DDA District Development Assembly DDP District Development Portfolio DE District Entities DG District Governor DGO District Government Office DoE Department of Education DoH Department of Health DoLSA Department of Labor and Social Affairs DoPW Department of Public Works DoWA Department of Women’s Affairs DP District Profile DPP District Project Portfolio DRRD Directorate of Rural Rehabilitation and Development DSF District Stability Framework DSM District Stability Matrix DST District Support Team DSW District Social Worker FOG Fixed-Obligation Grant GPS Global Positioning System GIRoA Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ICMA International City/County Management Association ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross IDLG Independent Directorate of Local Governance IL Implementation Letter ACKU IP Implementing Partner IR Intermediate Result KSW Komite Sobate Woleswali MISTI Measuring Impacts of Stabilization Intervention MoE Ministry of Education MRRD Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development NABDP National Area-Based Development Program NDS National Directorate Service NSP National Solidarity Program ODG Office of Democracy and vernanceGo OSC Overseas Strategic Consulting PDP Provincial Development Plan PE Provincial Entity PGO Provincial Government Office
iii ACRONYMS PMP Performance Management Plan PMT Project Management Training PPA Project Priority Agreement PST Provincial Support Team SAM Stability Analysis Mechanism SIKA Stability in Key Areas SOI Source of Instability SPC Service Providers Catalogue SSM Sector Stability Meeting STAB-U Stabilization Unit STEP Social, Technical, Economic, and Political (Assessment) SWOT Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (Analysis) TCNs Third Country Nationals TCRC Tribal Conflict Resolution Committee USAID United States Agency for International Development
In Western Afghanistan, the SIKA Program is referred to as “Sobat,” using the Dari word for stability.
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iv In Western Afghanistan, the ACKUSIKA Program is referred to as “Sobat,” using the Dari word for stability.
Taimori, Mirzai and Zoori Tribal Leaders Embrace and End Their Conflict In Kushk Rabat-e Sangi District 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Executive Summary
The SIKA-West program ran from January 29, 2012 to August SIKA-WEST PROGRAMMING 31, 2015. During this period, the program empowered 13 District Government Offices (DGOs) and associated line With the support of our national, provincial, and district departments, three Provincial Government Offices (PGOs) GIRoA partners, we moved forward to establish our and associated line departments, four Provincial Department stabilization and local governance programming. The pivot of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (DRRD) Offices, 16 point for all of our programming components was the Komite District Development Assemblies (DDAs), and more than 800 Sobate Woleswali (KSW), which is the Dari translation of Community Development Councils (CDCs) to take a leading District Stabilization Committee/Council. role in the development of local communities. Based on existing District Government–led forums (Shuras), The intended aim of SIKA-West was to improve local the KSW was designed to achieve multiple objectives: governance and stabilization efforts through increased • incorporate all district entities in one location so that citizen participation and service delivery. SIKA-West enabled all district leadership could participate in discussions on communities to identify and address drivers of instability significant community grievances within their districts and within their respective districts; improve local governance agree on steps that could be taken by local government efforts; recognize and apply available resources to address actors to address these grievances, reflecting an improved community needs; and increase the range, scope, and and responsive service delivery capability; effectiveness of communications between local government and district populations. SIKA-West also increased the • ensure full participation and perspective from both male stakeholder roles of both male in the management of grant and female district residents to maximize programming funded infrastructure and vocational service delivery. effectiveness; • publicize and promote local government responsiveness SIKA-West, in partnership with IDLG and MRRD, supported through improved communications and public outreach; our GIRoA partners to • enable GIRoA and District Entities to identify and utilize all • build and demonstrate increased internal capabilities to available existing resources; and address a range of “Community Major Problems” (CMPs)/ • support GIRoA-led multi-tiered monitoring and evaluation Sources of Instability (SOIs) within our target districts; efforts. • effectively identify and employ existing GIRoA resources in a resilient manner; • improve communications both internally within provincial and district GIRoA structures and externallyACKU between local PROVINCIAL AND DISTRICT government and district populations; ENTITY PARTNERS • employ gender mainstreaming techniques to integrate both male and female perspectives—an approach required • 4 Provincial Government Offices for effective local governance and district development; • 4 Provincial DRRD Offices • build on existing PGO and DGO capacities and services to • 13 District Government Offices improve their reach and effectiveness; and finally, • 16 District Development Assemblies • oversee local government-led and managed district • 800+ Community Development Councils development programming.
The support provided to our provincial and district GIRoA partners enabled them to positively impact 1,290,116 local residents within 16 selected districts of Farah, Ghor, Badghis, and Herat provinces during the life of the project.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6 PARTNERS LONG-TERM VISION
To support the project’s broad programming goals, SIKA- Recognizing the limitations on the longer term availability West provincial and district personnel were embedded of GIRoA financial resources, SIKA-West’s handover of within our IDLG and MRRD partners’ offices, working closely programming focused on key areas within stabilization, to support them on current local governance and service governance, resource development, and communications, delivery concerns. Working in such close proximity to our which our GIRoA partners would be able to manage provincial and district GIRoA colleagues enabled our program effectively. Notable successes include the following: to observe their performance firsthand, provide immediate mentoring and technical support, establish a close rapport, • handover and continued performance of Komite Sobate and ensure that our efforts were perceived by the district Woleswalis (KSWs) with long-term funding agreed to and populations as GIRoA-led. The inclusion of both male and provided by IDLG; female perspectives, prioritization and resolution of concerns, • linkage of KSWs to third-party service providers, enabling and overall perception of local government responsiveness District Governments to continue to identify critical to both genders’ needs were critical to the success of our district needs and allocate resources; district programming. Female district leadership, drawn from • handover and continued use of District Government DDAs, CDCs, and Women’s Councils, were a key component Communication Hotlines with long-term funding agreed of the KSW, bringing valuable insight to the role that local to and provided by IDLG, enabling DGOs to continue to government can play in addressing district resident service send out SMS messages on local government activities and delivery needs. ensuring that district populations can quickly contact their DGO representatives to receive feedback on available Sustainability of SIKA-West programming was always a key services; concern throughout the Base and Option Periods. By the end • handover and continued use of the Provincial DRRD of 2014, in agreement with USAID, MRRD, and IDLG, SIKA- Service Provider Hotlines with long-term funding agreed West shifted focus from collaborating directly with MRRD and to and provided by MRRD, enabling provincial and district IDLG on stabilization and governance programming to playing residents to quickly find contact details for provincial a much more limited supporting role, reducing the range and district government line departments and non- of direct funding provided and handing over programming governmental organization service providers. responsibility to its partners. It was not sufficient just to hand over these programming components at the end of the project’s contractual period; SIKA-West also needed to ensure the sustainability of these activities. For this reason, SIKA-West began to withdraw funding from these activities in December 2014 and ended all financial and logistical support by February 2015. From March to July 2015, the program observed and reported on these independent activities, reinforcing the view with MRRD, IDLG, and USAID that when program stakeholders play a key role in the development and implementation of programming, there ACKUis a greater chance for success in sustaining these activities. This approach was in line with SIKA-West’s overall strategic objective: Afghans have increased confidence in their District- level government, leading to the expansion of GIRoA provincial authority and legitimacy at the community level.
7 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ACKU
The Rais Sayed Mohammad CDC Constructed A 10-ML Aqueduct in Qadis District CONTEXT 8 SIKA-WEST
Residents that had local grievances addressed, including improved 1.5 Million service delivery.
Number of days women attended jointly sponsored SIKA-West and partner 70,000+ training. This included the training of over 3,000 women to use Service Provider Catalog, implement communications and outreach, address SOIs, and participate in KSWs.
Participants at the 315 Komite Sobate Woleswalis (KSW) chaired by DGOs. 20,900+ Participants included district entity stakeholders, who took a leading role in discussing and assessing district wide ‘community major problems’ (CMPs)/ Sources of Instability (SOIs) and publicly supporting local government led solutions. For many stakeholders, this was the first time they had a role in supporting and assisting their local government to effectively allocate available resources.
Afghans (24% female) trained at 826 Capacity Building sessions on capacities 12,562 that KSWs identified as needing strengthening including: communications, project management training, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), resource identification and development, community development, gender mainstreaming, administration, and governance. Trainees also included 986 GIRoA officials and District Entity leaders.
GIRoA-led solutions (soft capacity building and hard infrastructure) to 21 650 CMPs/SOIs identified through the KSWs in 16 districts and incorporated into IDLG and MRRD approved Project Priority Agreements (PPAs) and District Project Portfolios (DPPs)
Grants in 16 target districts valued at USD$9.7 million completed that were 535 identified, designed, awarded, implemented, and managed by MRRD, IDLG, and District Entity program through a public and transparent Komite Sobate ACKUWoleswali process to improve service delivery within our, benefitting over 1.5 million residents. These grants targeted transportation, agriculture and irrigation, education and health, governance, and vocational solutions and included 343,053 employment days provided to implement the grants and 104,530 training days.
Communications and outreach events to improve district government 720 partners’ communications capabilities internally within GIRoA structures and externally with district populations. Events included 18 radio and television engagements, 444 public meetings, forums, and town hall events, 240 communications and public outreach trainings, 14 SMS campaigns that included 6,072 messages, and four provincial service provider fairs.
9 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Improved access of 1.5 million residents in western Afghanistan to Access government services by successfully supporting provincial and district stakeholders to implement activities such as Service Provider Catalogs, SMS messaging, public forums and town halls, hotlines, social media, service provider fairs, and advocacy efforts.
Local citizens are more empowered to solve development constraints. They Empowerment work directly with government sector representatives to identify community development hurdles and implement local solutions in health, education, security, and agriculture sectors.
District and provincial entities acquired the ability to plan, develop, manage, Capacity and monitor local development through participation in joint monitoring visits of SIKA-West grants.
Improved provincial government office, district government office, and Improvement District Entities capabilities in stabilization, communications, community development, and governance.
Improved, effective interaction between provincial and district entities. Collaboration For example, the presence of MRRD DSWs within KSWs enabled these forums to benefit from the inclusion of NSP and NABDP services to avoid duplication and maximize available resources.
SIKA-West with MRRD and IDLG, increased the knowledge of 1.5 million Knowledge residents through events such as trainings and gender-integrated services fairs that brought men and women together to understand and access the ACKUgovernment services to which they are entitled. Reinforced the view that both male and female inputs and perspectives are Women critical which resulted in IDLG and MRRD partners, ensuring full Female Participation and leadership in the KSWs. Results include the prioritization and implementation of 66 grant funded female focused solutions to community grievances.
Secured IDLG, MRRD, and DOWA agreement and funding to sustain and Sustainability continue KSWs, DGO Communication Hotlines, DRRD Service Provider Hotlines, and Provincial Gender Mainstreaming Working Groups. Sustainable KSWs are now in place within 15 districts.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 10 Program Overview
The SIKA-West program, in collaboration with MRRD and These objectives are linked to the following expected results IDLG, supported Government of the Islamic Republic of (and described in the subsequent chapters of this report): Afghanistan (GIRoA)–led district-based stabilization and good governance programming in 16 districts. The program I. Stabilization: Provincial and District: Entities to used the term Komite Sobate Woleswali (Dari translation of increasingly address sources of instability (community District Stabilization Committee) to describe the monthly major problems) and take measures to respond to the forums that were the pivot points for all program activities. population’s development and governance concerns.
SIKA-West was highly Afghanized, responsive to regional II. Resource Development: Provincial and District realities, demand driven, and owned by GIRoA counterparts. Entities to understand what organizations and provincial It was integrated with Afghan programs such as the line departments work within their geographic areas, National Solidarity Program (NSP) and National Area-Based what kind of services they provide, and how the Development Program (NABDP); supported, mentored, population can access those services. and empowered the GIRoA; built the capacity of provincial and district entities; and procured goods and services locally III. Communications and Public Outreach: Provincial whenever possible following the Afghan First policy. Activities authorities to improve their ability to communicate with were implemented with the GIRoA at the district level and district entities in order to help them better understand coordinated at the provincial and national levels. their population’s needs and prioritize basic delivery interventions. Instability and insecurity are the most pervasive challenges facing Afghanistan’s development and reconstruction. IV. Community Development: Provincial authorities Cognizant of these factors, the program engaged with existing to be able to improve basic service delivery by using District and Provincial Entities to implement community-led GIRoA, CDCs, DDAs, and ASOP DCCs, which gain development and governance initiatives to address Sources of capacity to plan, design, implement, and monitor projects, Instability (SOIs), increasing provision of basic services and the with a focus on labor-intensive projects or productive capacity to deliver and manage these services.ACKU infrastructure. THE SIKA-WEST FRAMEWORK V. Governance: To build and improve upon current administrative and service delivery knowledge and skill SIKA-West’s approach was defined by the Results Framework, sets, which will improve the effectiveness and resiliency of which had the strategic objective “Afghans have increased GIRoA and equip provincial and district partners with the confidence in their district-level government, leading to the tools necessary to address local government stabilization expansion of the GIRoA’s provincial authority and legitimacy and governance objectives. at the community level.” This was supported by the program objective “To assist GIRoA officials at the district and VI. Gender Mainstreaming: Gender mainstreaming provincial levels to respond to the population’s development programming to be aligned with current IDLG, MRRD, and governance concerns, to better instill confidence and build and DoWA gender mainstreaming frameworks and stability, provide the improved functioning of government, and guidelines and to be primarily focused on ensuring enable the provisioning of priority GIRoA-led basic services to responsiveness to male and female district resident better instill confidence and build stability.” concerns with respect to basic service delivery.
11 PROGRAM OVERVIEW PROGRAM PARTNERS
Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) The mission and mandate of IDLG is to ensure peace and stability, achieve development and balanced economic growth, and improve service delivery by supporting strong and capable governance entities to employ just and democratic processes at the local level.
Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) MRRD strives to ensure the social, economic, and political well-being of rural societies, especially poor and vulnerable communities, through the provision of basic services, strengthening local governance, and promoting sustainable livelihoods.
Department of Women’s Affairs (DOWA) DOWA strives to ensure that Afghan women’s legal, economic, social, political, and civic rights, including their right to be free from all forms of violence and discrimination, are respected, promoted, and fulfilled.
National Area-Based Development Program (NABDP) MRRD launched NABDP in 2002 with the support of UNDP to contribute to the sustainable reduction of poverty and an improvement in livelihoods in rural communities by investing in social organization, infrastructure, local economic development, and sub-national governance initiatives.
National Solidarity Program (NSP) MRRD created the NSP in 2003 to develop the ability of Afghan communities to identify, plan, manage, and monitor their own development projects. Communities elect their own leaders and representatives to form voluntary Community Development Councils (CDCs) through a transparent and democratic process.
Community Development Council (CDC) Communities select members (both men and women) to serve as their decision-making bodies. CDCs are responsible for implementing and managing development projects and are key liaisons between the community and both government and non-governmental organizations.
District Development Assembly (DDA) DDAs were designed to represent the rural communities at the district level, with CDCs electing DDA members through a transparent and democratic process. DDAs play a pivotal role in rural development by incorporating district priorities into District Development Plans (DDPs). NABDP instituted DDAs to represent the voice of rural Afghans (including women) and to promote engagement with the central government, incorporating district priorities into Provincial Development Plans (PDPs). Since the inception of DDAs, NABDP has set out to support and strengthen their capacity. CDC cluster representatives makeACKU up DDA membership. SUBCONTRACTORS
International City/County Management Association (ICMA) as a subcontractor to AECOM provided inputs and leadership for the IR4 Community Development component as well as in capacity building activities. During the Option Period of SIKA-West, ICMA’s contributions were increasingly targeted and focused on the District Government Capacity Index.
Overseas Strategic Consulting, Ltd. (OSC) as a subcontractor to AECOM designed and implemented the communication and outreach strategy for SIKA-West. OSC’s work centered on involvement, collaboration, and cooperation with IDLG, district governor s, and district entities.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW 12 Although the program launched in January 2012, SIKA-West could undertake activities only after the Implementation Letter (IL) was signed between USAID, MRRD, and IDLG ENGAGING PROGRAM PARTNERS on September 3, 2012. Due to the delay with the IL, the SIKA-West relied on existing and sustainable GIRoA program received a seven-month extension, shifting the base structures to implement activities. The approach used period from 18 months to 25 months. SIKA-West moved was a “Community Engagement Matrix” as described quickly to mobilize into its first round of ten districts within later in this report. Key to implementing this approach the four provinces of Farah, Badghis, Ghor, and Herat (which were the Komite Sobate Woleswalis (KSWs) located in were identified and approved by USAID, MRRD, and IDLG) each program district. for the base period. A KSW is made up of district government officials, DISTRICT ENTITIES DEFINED District Development Assemblies (DDAs), Community Development Councils (CDCs), Tribal Elders, and SIKA-West defines District Entities as institutions“ community leaders, organized and led by the district that are Afghan led and work at the district level. These governor. KSWs work to identify and resolve problems institutions include District Governors (DG) and their within their communities. DDAs and CDCs operate partners; MRRD/NABDP-established District Development at the district level to ensure that community inputs Assemblies (DDAs); MRRD/NSP Community Development are incorporated in the identification of community Councils (CDCs); and, where none of these exist, traditional grievances, recommendations on solutions, and design District Shuras.” of grant-funded interventions. It is important to note that SIKA-West was designed to work exclusively at the district level. Although the The MRRD and IDLG SIKA units played a critical role in program engaged with and maintained close working providing materials that enabled SIKA-West to build on, relationships with provincial governments, it did so to reinforce, and expand existing stabilization, governance, further district programming activities, not to actively resource development, communications, gender, and engage in programmatic support at the provincial level. community development skills that were previously developed by GIRoA. SIKA-West also relied on these units To ensure that these efforts were sustainable, it was to provide programmatic guidance through the employment critical that SIKA-West worked with existing district of SIKA steering committees, coordination meetings, and/ entities and their current capacities for stabilization and or on-site visits to SIKA program offices in Herat. This level local governance programming. The program avoided any of coordination enabled SIKA-West to communicate its efforts that would result in the creation of new entities so programming objectives effectively to provincial and district as not to see these efforts fail after the program closed partners, address programmatic challenges, publicize and due to a lack of GIRoA interest, resources, or capacities. promote achievements, and maintain effective communication channels between provincial and district partners, MRRD and SIKA-West implemented activates in close collaboration IDLG SIKA units, and the national ministries. with MRRD and IDLG at the national, provincial, and district level, ensuring that stabilization and governance programming FEMALE EMPOWERMENT aligned with and built on existing GIRoA frameworks,ACKU Recognizing that the involvement of women is vital to good practices, and guidelines. SIKA-West received significant governance, as a cross-cutting objective, SIKA-West promoted support from the MRRD and IDLG SIKA units, which GIRoA’s National Action Plan for Women of Afghanistan served as liaisons between SIKA-West and GIRoA ministries. (NAPWA) and MRRD’s gender policy. The program built With these units, SIKA-West was able to collaborate on the successful efforts of other initiatives such as the more effectively with provincial and district partners and MRRD District Development Assemblies (DDAs) and the obtain greater access to district entity work product and Community Development Councils (CDCs) of the National records. Most important, SIKA-West was able to receive a Solidarity Program (NSP). comprehensive picture of the current structure and capacities of PGOs and DGOs under IDLG, District Development SIKA-West relied on the constant support of the Provincial Assemblies (DDAs), and Community Development Councils Departments of Women’s Affairs in Farah, Badghis, Herat, (CDCs). SIKA-West also received background on past and and Ghor to implement gender-mainstreaming activities. current GIRoA-led district development programming under While not a contractual partner, the program recognized the the National Solidarity Program (NSP) and National Area- importance of building on past and current gender initiatives Based Development Program (NABDP).
13 PROGRAM OVERVIEW The Ghor DRRD Director, Mr. Taj Mohammad Zulal, Organized a Coordination Meeting with Organizations for the Service Providers Fair
within its target districts. To accomplish this, SIKA-West available GIRoA resources and SIKA-West grant funding for gender-mainstreaming programming was shared through district development needs. All SIKA-West DGO governance Provincial Gender Working Groups, chaired by DOWA, which and stabilization activities were coordinated through the brought together provincial government line departments and district-based Komite Sobate Woleswalis (KSW), which were non-governmental actors engaged in gender activities. These led and managed by the respective district governments. working groups were crucial to understanding the range and The program provided weekly updates to the IDLG SIKA scope of activities, as well as the resources available, and avoid unit, reflecting progress on programming components. It also the duplication of efforts. supported workshops and conferences with representatives from the IDLG Capacity Institutional Development The program integrated gender considerations across all Directorate (CIDD) and Communications Unit to ensure that activities by targeting awareness initiatives and training capacity-building efforts were in line with IDLG requirements. programs, improving women’s access to District Entities (DEs), and identifying opportunities to support projectsACKU for women The MRRD SIKA unit performed a critical role in supporting and women’s groups. The primary mechanism for this gender program efforts to embed personnel within the Provincial integration was through KSWs and DOWA. DRRD offices, assess the level of district engagement, support the capacity development of District Social Workers PARTNERSHIPS WITH MRRD AND IDLG (DSWs), identify and engage with District Entities (DDAs and CDCs), link the KSWs to current NSP and NABDP district Both MRRD and IDLG were SIKA-West key stakeholders and programming to maximize resources and avoid duplication played leading roles in the design of the program and selection of efforts, and utilize existing MRRD-approved engineering of the target districts. These partners had differing but equally guidelines and training materials for district entity capacity- critical roles within the program. building efforts. The program also established a close working relationship with the MRRD Community-Led Development The IDLG SIKA unit enabled the program to embed program Directorate (CLDD), with whom SIKA-West reviewed the personnel within District Government Offices (DGOs), assess capabilities and needs of the Provincial DRRD District Social the capabilities of personnel and the current availability of Workers (DSWs). The DSWs played a leading role in tracking services, support current service delivery efforts, and identify and monitoring district development on behalf of MRRD.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW 14 DISTRICT SELECTION CRITERIA
The districts were selected at the national level based on the OPTION PERIOD DISTRICTS following USAID-approved district criteria: Expansion Districts: Program focus was on 1. Potential for functioning CDCs/DDAs, with linkage to stabilization activities (with gender-mainstreaming DCCs where appropriate, that are able to prove that they support for KSWs only), community development, and meet regularly, are perceived as a lead entity in development monitoring and evaluation programming only. SIKA used activities, and are formally recognized by MRRD. a minimal number of new district staff (where required) 2. Likelihood that SIKA will facilitate conditions for follow-up while also employing the full resources and personnel assistance programs to complement SIKA’s efforts and from neighboring districts and provincial offices to provide support after SIKA is no longer operational in provide technical support. SIKA-West had three the district. expansion districts during the option period: Guzara (Herat Province), Du Layna (Ghor Province), and Farah 3. Security conditions allow MRRD, USAID, and the Center (Farah Province). Implementing Partner the ability to effectively operate and monitor SIKA activities in the district. New Districts: Program focus was on stabilization, resource development and communications/public 4. The district has GIRoA representation, including a outreach, community development, governance, gender functioning District Governor, Ministry of the Interior, and mainstreaming, and monitoring & evaluation. Where MRRD to provide support and leadership. required, new standalone District Support Teams 5. The district represents a strategic priority by containing a (DSTs) were set up. SIKA-West had three new districts: substantial population center, has potential for a strategic Kohsan (Herat Province), Lash Wa Juwayn (Farah economic contribution to Afghanistan’s economy, and Province), and Qala-e-Naw (Badghis Province). represents a strategic transportation corridor.
GEOGRAPHIC STRATEGY In February 2014, discussions began between USAID, MRRD, and IDLG to select six additional districts utilizing the same The base period districts were Bala Baluk, Pusht Rod, Khak- district selection criteria. Recognizing that not all of the e-Safed, Shindand, Pashtun Zarghun, Kushk-e-Rabat Sangi, base period districts met the required criteria, SIKA-West Shahrak, Chaghcharan, Qadis, and Muqur. The program start was proactive in working with IDLG and MRRD to ensure dates within these districts were staggered based on approval that these criteria were shared with Provincial and District received from USAID, MRRD, and IDLG. By June 2013, SIKA- Government Offices and DRRD Offices within its four West was active within all regions. provinces so that residents would be able to provide key inputs. On May 06, 2014, SIKA-West received instruction from AREAS OF OPERATION USAID, MRRD, and IDLG to expand its list of target districts to include Farah Center, Guzara District, Kohsan Dist rict, Du The districts are listed under each province. Layna District, and Qala-e-Naw Center. This left the program with a total of 16 target districts between May 2014 and Farah Province Herat Province the program closedown date of August 31, 2015. Within its Bala Baluk Shindand target provincial and district regions, SIKA-West engaged, Pusht Rod Kushk-e-RabaACKUt Sangi supported, and collaborated with four Provincial Government Khak-e-Safed Pashtun Zarghun Offices (PGOs), four Provincial DRRD Offices, 13 District Lash Wa Juwayn Guzara Government Offices (DGOs), 16 District Development Farah Center Kohsan Assemblies (DDAs), and more than 800 Community Development Councils (CDCs). Ghor Province Badghis Province Shahrak Muqur Within the 16 districts, the total population was estimated at Du Layna Qadis 1,241,400 residents.4 Major population centers included Farah Chaghcharan Qala-e-Naw Center (106,400 residents), Shindand (170,900), Kushk-e- Rabat Sangi (118,800), Guzara (140,000), and Chaghcharan BASE PERIOD OPTION PERIOD (129,600), while remaining districts contained less than 10 Districts 16 Districts 100,000 residents each. Jan 2012 – Feb 2014 Feb 2014 – Aug 2015 4 Population figures were drawn from SIKA’s District Profiles. Please see Annex E.
15 PROGRAM OVERVIEW Muqur
Kushk-e-Rabat Sangi Qadis Badghis
Qala-e-Naw Kohsan Chaghcharan
Herat Pashtun Zarghun Guzara Shahrak Du Layna
Ghor
Shindand Farah
Bala Baluk Khak-e-Safed Farah Center Pusht Rod Lash Wa Juwayn
District Profile Overview FARAH PROVINCE BADGHIS PROVINCE Bala Baluk, Pusht Rod, Lash Wa Juwayn Districts Muqur, Qadis, Qala-e-Naw Districts • Dominant tribes are Pashtun • Dominant tribes are Tajik and Pashtun • Economies depend on agriculture, livestock,ACKU handicrafts, • Economies depend on trade, agriculture, livestock, and and migrant labor handicrafts • 3 DDAs, 223 CDCs • 3 DDAs, 354 CDCs
HERAT PROVINCE GHOR PROVINCE Kushk-e-Rabat Sangi, Pashtun Zarghun, Shindand, Chaghcharan, Shahrak Districts Kohsan Districts • Dominant tribes are Aimaks and Tajiks • Dominant tribes are Pashtun and Tajik • Economies depend on agriculture, livestock, trade, and • Economies depend on agriculture, livestock, and migrant handicrafts labor • 2 DDAs, 431 CDCs • 4 DDAs, 543 CDCs
PROGRAM OVERVIEW 16 In line with the district criteria, SIKA-West collaborated with West was awarded six more districts during the option MRRD and IDLG to identify active District Entities (DDAs, period. These districts were further classified into “expansion CDCs, and District Shuras) that were capable of taking a districts” and “new districts.” The driving aim behind this leading role in district governance and stabilization affairs. additional classification was to factor in the pending reduction To implement successfully, SIKA-West needed to recognize in programming spending as a result of USAID’s reduction both the capabilities of District Entities and the surrounding to the SIKA-West budget. By adding the classification of environment within which they lived and operated. While the expansion districts, SIKA-West could at least undertake level of tribalization varied from region to region depending stabilization and community development programming within on how urbanized the population had become, tribal a district, reducing overall programming costs but continuing affiliations, patronage networks, regional loyalties, and family to materially assist MRRD and IDLG partners to respond to networks remained critically important, requiring the program district population needs. to understand these relationships. To do so, SIKA-West developed District Profiles (DPs).4 Please refer to Annex E The initial security review of each assigned district was a for the program’s DPs. critical step prior to committing resources and launching programming components. Security conditions varied While the program worked in collaboration with its partners considerably across districts. This was a reflection of GIRoA to develop the DPs, SIKA-West also developed district rollout investment within local security forces, ongoing campaigns, Plans, which provided a complete overview of the program’s insurgent activities, unresolved tribal disputes, and current approach when engaging with its target districts. Please see criminal behavior. The program’s first actions were to establish the following step-by-step process. working relationships with provincial and district security forces to gain a firsthand understanding of the security DISTRICT ROLLOUT PLAN challenges inherent within each region. In collaboration with its MRRD and IDLG partners, SIKA-West established close and • Establish working relationships with provincial DRRD and productive working relationships with the Afghan National provincial and district government partners to outline Army (ANA), Afghan National Police (ANP), and National the scope and stated aims of the SIKA-West stabilization Directorate Service (NDS) within the program’s provinces and governance activities. SIKA’s role in supporting MRRD and districts. This proved to be invaluable and enabled SIKA- and IDLG is to address district communities’ “Sources of West to mobilize safely and with a great deal of confidence as Instability (SOIs)” through the use of the Stability Analysis it launched district activities. Mechanism (SAM) and to enable a GIRoA-led effort to provide viable solutions to major problems and improved TRANSITION AND HANDOVER service delivery to district populations. • Complete a security review of district environment and With the support of USAID, a transitional working group the establishment of robust communications and strong was established in January 2015. SIKA-West, East, South, working relationships with local security forces. and North coordinated with MRRD, IDLG, and USAID to agree on work product and programming materials to be • Assess existing conditions and space requirements within handed over to our partners at the ends of the programs. DRRD and DGO facilities to embed SIKA personnel at the SIKA-West prepared communications, governance, gender, provincial and district levels. and monitoring and evaluation programming materials • Recruit provincial and district program personnel using (hard and soft records), which were handed over to district procedures that include a role for DRRD ACKUand DGO governments, provincial DRRD offices, and the respective personnel. MRRD and IDLG SIKA units between May and August 2015. • In collaboration with MRRD and IDLG, prepare a record of District Entities (DDAs, CDCs, tribal leaders, Ulema, and MRRD District Social Workers) for KSW membership under the leadership of the district government.
This approach was replicated across all ten districts during the base period. As outlined earlier in this report, SIKA-
2 SIKA-West developed 12 comprehensive District Profiles. There were no District Profiles for Guzara District (Herat Province), Du Layna District (Ghor Province), and Farah Center (Farah Province) because these districts were classified as “Expansion Districts” and did not include Communications and Public Outreach programming. In addition, due to the destruction of the Khak-e-Safed DGO in April 2014, CPOD activities were suspended until the end of the contract, preventing the creation of a profile for that district.
17 PROGRAM OVERVIEW Kushk Rabat-E Sangi District Governor, Shir Aqa Sarwari, Organized A Voluntary Effort To Clean Irrigation Canals
Approach: Stabilization through Good Governance
SIKA-West enabled provincial and district government and • Between the Wave 1 and Wave 5 reports, the perceptions district entity stakeholders to transition from initial short- held by local populations of their local village leaders (CDC term stabilization initiatives to longer term governance and leadership/tribal elders) increased from 66% to 74%. development programming. It accomplished this with the • Between the Wave 1 and Wave 5 reports, the perceptions support of the MRRD and IDLG SIKA units and through held by local populations of their District Government the employment of a public and transparent governance Offices (DGOs) increased from 65% to 70%. mechanism, the district-based Komite SobateACKU Woleswali, as well as improvements in local government communications. Working closely with male and female members of DEs These actions ultimately improved district populations’ through the KSW forum, local governments identified key perceptions of local government and empowered provincial district community major problems and grievances that and district program stakeholders to take a leading role centered on previous failures of local governments to provide in building local confidence and legitimacy within local adequate basic services to district residents (health, education, government institutions. legal, etc.) and their inability to invest sufficient capital to address the districts’ infrastructure needs (roads, bridges, According to the recent MISTI Wave 5 report, the following floodwalls, school rehabilitation, irrigation canals, reservoirs, improvements in perceptions among district populations clinic rehabilitation, etc.). Employing all available GIRoA were recorded: resources under MRRD, NSP, and NABDP programming; • Between the Wave 1 and Wave 5 reports, the perceptions SIKA-West grant-funded resources; and third party donors, held by local populations of their District Governors local governments began to address these CMPs in an open increased from 73% to 80%. and transparent manner, with the consensus and support of district entity leadership.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW 18 The SIKA Impact
LONG-TERM SUSTAINABLE KOMITE SOBATE INCREASED ACCESS TO AVAILABLE RESOURCES Woleswalis Sustainable KSWs are now in place within 15 districts , employing current GIRoA funding. These public SIKA-West successfully supported our provincial and district and transparent forums will continue to identify and address stakeholders in identifying and employing available GIRoA community grievances, apply available resources, and and third-party donor resources. This was a first for many improve both service delivery and district development DGOs, which were not accustomed to searching for outside programming efforts. KSWs are linked to NABDP and NSP resources. Through Service Provider Catalogs (SPCs), SMS programming and in certain districts to other NGO and messaging, public forums and town halls, hotlines, social other USAID programs. media, service provider fairs, and advocacy efforts, DGOs and District Entities were taught how to find and allocate STRENGTHENED PARTICIPATION OF MALE available provincial and district resources. This resulted in AND FEMALE DISTRICT RESIDENTS KSWs independently managing and addressing 22 community grievances without grant funding from SIKA-West. SIKA-West has seen strong participation among male and female district residents within all of its programming IMPROVED COORDINATION FOR DISTRICT components. The program strived to reinforce the view that DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMING both male and female inputs, experiences, and perspectives were critical to effective local governance and district Through the use of the KSWs, DGOs are now much more development programming. The project was rewarded with aware and better informed by DEs on existing district a strong commitment from its IDLG and MRRD partners, development programming activities. The KSWs have ensuring full participation of male and female residents within provided simple public forums where all district governance the overall stabilization and governance programming. and development programming are discussed, enabling DGOs to have a comprehensive overview of activities, maximize coordination, and avoid duplication. This coordination will continue as DGOs link their KSWs to future GIRoA and donor-funded district governance and development efforts.
Government Officials Cut the Ribbon To Inaugurate the Two-Day Badghis Service Providers Fair ACKU
19 PROGRAM OVERVIEW ACKU
Kushk Rabat-e Sangi District Government Agriculture Factsheet
PROGRAM OVERVIEW 20 ACKU
ACED II prepares the installation of a new bus shelter in Aqaba.
Members of Kushk Haibat CDC in Pashtun Zarghun District Prioritizing Community Concerns 21 PROGRAM OVERVIEW I. Stabilization
Provincial and District Entities to address sources of instability and take measures to respond to the population’s development and governance concerns.
SIKA-West stabilization programming was designed around the understanding that District Entities (DEs), District Government Offices (DGOs) and Line Departments, the Department of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (DRRD), District Development Assemblies (DDAs), Community Development Councils (CDCs), tribal elders, community leaders, and ulema (religious leaders) are best placed to identify drivers of instability within their communities and to prioritize and implement locally appropriate solutions. Based on USAID’s District Stability Framework (DSF), the SIKA-West Stability Analysis Mechanism (SAM) was an Afghanized tool used to identify and address district communities’ major problems (CMPs) and Sources of Instability (SOIs) in an inclusive and effective fashion. The SAM is based on the premise that local government and district entities can identify CMPs that divide communities, alienate populations from their local government, and provide opportunities for insurgents to exploit existing and longstanding grievances. Additionally, local government can recognize how to address and resolve these grievances while reinforcing the legitimacy of the district government as a competent and responsive service provider.
KEY RESULTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
315 KSWs chaired by DGOs, with a tracked attendance of 20,909 district entity stakeholders (approximately 10% women), assisted local governments to ACKUidentify and address CMPs/SOIs. 22 KSWs established in 16 districts where IDLG and MRRD utilized the Afghanized SAM to increase GIRoA’s legitimacy and improve its ability to deliver on basic services.
650 GIRoA-led solutions to 21 common CMPs/SOIs across the 16 districts identified through the KSWs and incorporated into IDLG and MRRD-approved Project Priority Agreements (PPAs) and District Project Portfolios (DPPs).
117 DPPs created, resulting in 535 GIRoA-led solutions, identified and implemented by 22 KSWs to address longstanding community grievances while improving local government service delivery efforts.
STABILIZATION 22 SIKA-West began with the establishment of District range of influential individuals and groups helped shape Stabilization Committees (DSCs), which were later renamed collective views, uphold communal decisions, and strongly Komite Sobate Woleswalis (as part of the Afghanized support local government efforts to assume a greater approach). Within 16 districts, 22 KSWs were established responsibility to improve GIRoA-led service delivery. The (ten mixed, six male, and six female where deemed culturally KSWs also included existing GIRoA-led district development, appropriate by GIRoA partners). KSW members included primarily MRRD, NABDP, and NSP, as well as other donor DGOs, DDAs, CDCs, tribal elders, and ulema. This broad efforts to leverage resources.
Capacity Building
SIKA-West capacity-building efforts enabled GIRoA to lead its own KSW-based district stabilization and governance efforts, employing the SAM to identify district CMPs, reasons Afghans acquired skills for these problems, and solutions directly addressing causes 12,562 of instability within their districts, furthering the delivery in communications, project management of critical services and responding to district populations’ training, M&E, and administration and governance concerns. To ensure longer term sustainability and governance through 826 capacity-building effectiveness, SIKA-West focused on the following support: sessions. • Provided clear, concise training on the purpose, aims, and benefits of the stabilization program, educating provincial and district stakeholders on how SIKA-West should be or converted into easily understood terms. “Sources of used to assist local governments to identify and resolve Instability” (SOIs) was changed to “Community Major significant community grievances through the use of Problems” (CPMs). “Rationale” was changed to “reasons,” improved service delivery. and “mitigation activities” was changed to “solutions.” These changes, among others, made it far easier for KSW • Ensured that the program’s GIRoA partners had a members to understand the process. District entities complete understanding of their districts in terms of were also provided with the opportunity to identify their population, ethnic breakdown, tribal structure, power own CMPs (as opposed to being informed of them) so brokers, influential actors, economic factors, the range of that grassroots community perspectives were considered existing services, and so forth. Collaborating with DGOs from the very beginning, avoiding the imposition of outside and DRRD on the creation of DPs guaranteed that they solutions, increasing stakeholder engagement, and further were better informed when discussing district-wide strengthening the SAM process. concerns during KSW meetings. • SIKA-West did not impose any deadlines on the SAM • Developed the SAM in an Afghanized fashion, meaning process and worked closely with its counterparts to that complex language and definitions wereACKU removed ensure that grievances were fully aired and that DEs Trainees by Gender Types of Training
Women Administration & Governance 24% Project Management
Communications & Public Outreach
Vocational Training
Men Male Female Monitoring & Evaluation 76% 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
23 STABILIZATION arrived at solutions, through consensus, at their own pace. resources. SIKA-West KSWs were continuing to discuss It was critical that stakeholders had the opportunity to new district concerns through the end of 2014. speak on matters and were satisfied that their viewpoints • Worked with IDLG and MRRD district entity counterparts were taken into account. For this reason, SIKA-West to establish a KSW workflow, which incorporated existing collaborated with DEs on monthly KSWs so that issues practices that were familiar to existing DGO, NSP, and could be discussed at length, concerns refined, and NABDP programming. solutions thought through before seeking to allocate
KSW Workflow
a key stakeholder role in addressing district grievances through Step 1. KSW Preparation/Review the allocation of available GIRoA and SIKA-West resources.
The KSWs presented the first opportunity for many DEs to Step 2. KSW Meeting and CMP Identification sit together, discuss shared concerns, and reach consensus on (IDLG and DRRD Present) the full extent of major problems within district communities. With the support of IDLG, SIKA-West worked with DGO personnel to ensure they were capable of leading the KSWs, utilizing the Afghanized SAM approach, screening grievances Step 3. IDLG/DRRD Project Prioritization through established criteria, prioritizing CMPs, and identifying solutions by employing available GIRoA and third-party resources or SIKA-West grant funding. Step 4. DPP Preparation and MRRD Approval Traditionally, smaller micro-communities lacked sufficient CDC or DDA leadership due to their low population numbers. Consequently, they banded together with similar- Step 5. DPP and Grant Approval Received From sized communities to form clusters, greatly enhancing their representative leadership and ensuring that their particular grievances were heard. To the extent possible, GIRoA-led grant-funded solutions were targeted to assist as many Step 6. CDC/DDA Grant Implementation communities as possible to maximize community benefits and available financial resources. SIKA-West, with the support of MRRD, worked in tandem with the local government to implement GIRoA-led solutions. Step 7. MRRD/IDLG Grant Monitoring The District Government would open up monthly KSW discussions by reiterating the need to work together to Recognizing the existing capacities present ACKUamong DGO identify key district problems in line with the stabilization personnel, DDA members, and CDC leaders within the programming criteria. KSW members were invited to speak, target districts, the KSW was modeled on past and current discussing a wide range of problems including security DGO, NSP, and NABDP programming, in which influential conditions and requirements, need for improvement in basic district stakeholders gathered under the leadership of IDLG local government services (education, health, agriculture, and MRRD to discuss individual community development public infrastructure, etc.), absence or inefficiency of local needs and concerns. The key difference between these types government, presence or absence of existing donor funded of programs and the KSW was the focus on a SAM-driven programming, and challenges with respect to district agenda that looked beyond individual community needs and community relations. If there was sufficient consensus addressed longer term drivers of instability that continued reached on any one of these concerns, then the reasons for to divide communities, alienate populations from their local the concern would be identified and screened through the government, provide grievances for insurgents to exploit, and stabilization criteria to determine if they were in fact CMPs undermine the legitimacy of local governments. By providing that acted as drivers for further instability within the district. the KSW forum for DEs to discuss broader concerns, local SIKA-West personnel were present at these KSWs but government and community leaders recognized that they had
STABILIZATION 24 placed no requirements to KSW members on the number of the health, education, agriculture, and rural infrastructure concerns that needed to be reviewed, filtered, or prioritized, sectors. Frequent discussions were held between district instead waiting patiently for DEs to arrive at their own residents and their government officials regarding poorly conclusions on their own timeline. SIKA-West supported equipped schools and clinics and the declining quality or DGOs and DEs to hold KSWs on a monthly basis throughout absence of rural roads, bridges, irrigation canals, and flood the life of the program, enabling key concerns to be addressed protection walls that severely impeded community access to over multiple meetings until such time as a common course of the District Centers and exposed their lands to the continued action could be agreed upon. threat of seasonal flooding.
Once key CMPs were identified, screened, and provided with To alleviate these conditions, SIKA-West supported district agreed upon solutions, the district government would publish government efforts to engage with provincial ministries these solutions as a Project Priority Agreement (PPA). Copies to pay attention to these needs, requesting that provincial were then shared with the MRRD District Social Workers line departments reassess the amount of resources made (DSWs) to ensure that proposed project solutions were in available to district schools and clinics to ensure that basic accordance with MRRD programming guidelines and were not necessities were being met. This was coupled with grant being duplicated. KSW members were mentored by SIKA- award agreements to rehabilitate schools and clinics on the West while they prioritized and screened CMPs to ensure condition that these structures were actively in use and an that GIRoA-led solutions were in line with IDLG, MRRD, and agreement was in place with the respective line ministry— USAID policies. Department of Health (DoH), Department of Education (DoE), or others—that the beneficiary community possessed the technical capacity to undertake the rehabilitation efforts. COMMON TYPES OF CMPS Additionally, these project designs were screened by MRRD to avoid any duplication of efforts under NSP or NABDP 1. Youth opium addiction programming. Likewise, with community requests for the district government to invest in the rural road networks and 2. Lack of economic opportunities flood protection walls, the district governments would liaise 3. Lack of water management infrastructure with their provincial Department of Public Works (DoPW); 4. Poverty and unemployment Department of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock (DAIL); 5. Poor performance of GIRoA officials and provincial DRRD counterparts to review whether 6. Illiteracy and lack of educational facilities similar types of district development programming were 7. Community water disputes already being planned before moving forward to consider the technical feasibility of these requests. 8. Presence of insurgent groups 9. Lack of trust between district residents and local Additional concerns that were raised within the KSWs related government to an overall lack of trust between district communities 10. Insecurity (criminal and insurgent) and their local governments due to an absence of regular 11. Foreign destabilizing influences communication, lack of transparency, and failure to engage 12. Lack of GIRoA financial investment in the districts with communities on district development priorities. The 13. Lack of GIRoA transparency KSW model alleviated these concerns as it was designed specifically to expand and improve engagement between local 14. Inadequate transportation networks ACKUgovernment and district entities, enhance communication, 15. Seasonal flooding and ensure a transparent process prior to deciding on district 16. Lack of basic service delivery (health, education, and development priorities. Results of SIKA-West’s efforts security) are conveyed in the MISTI Wave 5 report, reflecting 80% 17. Lack of agricultural infrastructure favorable ratings for District Governors, 70% favorable ratings 18. Uneven allocation of GIRoA resources for district governments, and 74% favorable ratings for local 19. Lack of potable water leaders among residents within the 16 target districts. 20. Lack of unity among communities Community disputes and tribal conflicts were an important 21. Tribal conflicts consideration for KSW discussion, and SIKA-West played an important role in addressing longstanding disputes, preventing grievances from being exploited by insurgents and fueling In terms of CMPs, the most common finding across all districts further instability. To assist in these conflict mitigation efforts, related to the residents’ view that their local government was SIKA-West established Tribal Conflict Resolution Committees unable or unwilling to deliver necessary public services within (TCRCs). Members of the TCRCs were local community
25 STABILIZATION leaders, respected for their wisdom and experience in dealing programming with available GIRoA resources. In total, 63 with these types of matters. Membership was voluntary, and tribal conflicts were addressed across all districts on a range TCRCs were led by the District Governors. While SIKA- of matters including land and water disputes, armed conflict West supported these efforts by providing conflict resolution internally between tribal clans and externally between tribes, training, mentoring, and logistical support to TCRC members, and water disputes and inheritance claims involving multiple the program was careful to limit the amount of resources tribal clans. provided so as to warrant continued sustainability of this
KEY RESULTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
854 CDCs and DDAs participated in the KSWs and worked in collaboration with their District Governments to improve local governance and district development programming.
Strong female participation in KSWs reflected the value placed by DGOs on both male and female perspectives with regard to district governance programming.
Extensive collaboration and cooperation between IDLG and MRRD to undertake joint district stabilization and governance efforts. The presence of MRRD DSWs within KSWs enabled these forums to benefit from the inclusion of NSP and NABDP services to maximize available resources.
Recognized long-term funding and sustainability agreements with MRRD and IDLG to continue supporting the KSWs after the conclusion of the SIKA-West program.
80% favorable view of district governors, 70% favorable view of DGOs, and 74% favorable view of local leaders (DDAs, CDCs, tribal elders) in SIKA-West target districts according to the MISTI Wave 5 report.
Shindand District Public Meeting- Service Providers Catalog Distributed ACKU
STABILIZATION 26 ROLE OF MRRD DSWS
• The MRRD CLDD was a key partner when engaging with MRRD District Social Workers (DSWs). • DSWs are district-based personnel responsible for representing provincial DRRD offices at the KSWs, assisting in the identification of solutions to CMPs and ensuring that projects identified were not duplicated under existing NSP and NABDP programming. • DSWs also played a critical role in monitoring and evaluation efforts, ensuring that ACKUinfrastructure project quality was of the highest standard and was designed effectively to address the identified problem/grievance and maintained by the community over the life of the SIKA-West program. • When the SIKA-West program launched, it recognized that there were gaps in DSW district staffing.In collaboration with USAID and the MRRD CLDD, the program recruited and trained 12 additional DSWs within target districts to support DRRD partners to fully participate in district-based stabilization programming.
Monitoring visit of the Mir Abad School Surrounding Wall Construction Project in Pashtun Zarghun District 27 STABILIZATION KSW Community Engagement Matrix
After identifying viable solutions to screened and prioritized SIKA-West provided soft capacity-building solutions to GIRoA, CMPs, the district government prepared a PPA listing GIRoA- whereas hard solutions (e.g., flood protection measures) were led decisions on how best to resolve community grievances. uploaded into the District Stabilization Matrix (DSM) for PPAs usually contained between five and ten project solutions. further review prior to being placed into a DPP for MRRD and USAID approval. Once approved, individual project The PPA was shared with SIKA-West and MRRD to ensure solutions within the DPP were prepared as in-kind or fixed- that the grievances identified were effectively screened obligation grant (FOG) applications and submitted to USAID and fit CMP/SOI criteria, were feasible and compliant for review (and vetting if in excess of $25,000) and approval. with USAID and MRRD project guidelines (e.g., vertical structures were disallowed under NSP guidelines), and did After USAID approval, the grantee (DDA/CDC) received the not duplicate existing MRRD programming (under NSP and grant award agreement, followed by an introductory Project NABDP). Identified CMPs and solutions that did not fit the Management Training (PMT) introducing the conditions of screening criteria or lacked sufficient linkage were sent back the agreement, technical specifications, project management to the KSW for reexamination, discussion, and inclusion in requirements, implementation timeline, quality standards, future PPAs, with additional mentoring and capacity-building and budget and M&E practices. The grantee received onsite support provided. mentoring from SIKA-West and MRRD DSW partners during the life of the project.
Step 1: Komite Sobate Woleswali (KSW) is used as a Step 8: Step 2: CDCs /DDAs GIRoA forum to KSW identifies provide updates to address community community KSW on progress concerns problems and and complete solutions project activity
Step 3: Step 7: Solutions prioritized CDCs/DDAs Community by GIRoA and implement placed into a projects to address Engagement GIRoA-approved community ACKU District Project problems Matrix Portfolio (DPP)
Step 6: Step 4: CDC/DDA project DPP approved by management Step 5: IDLG, MRRD, and training Grant applications USAID prepared/approved/ awarded to CDCs/ DDAs
STABILIZATION 28 KSW Impacts
The following were the impacts of KSWs: • KSWs improved coordination amongst multiple GIRoA ministries at the district and provincial level (health, • 315 KSWs were held across 16 districts and four education, agriculture, security, rural rehabilitation, legal, provinces, with a tracked attendance record of 17,405 women’s affairs, labor, etc.). district entity stakeholders, producing 21 common CMPs/SOIs, 650 GIRoA-led solutions (both soft capacity • Strong buy-in was evident from IDLG and MRRD, who building and hard infrastructure), 117 District Project recognized the contribution of the KSW to improved local Portfolios (DPPs), and 535-grant funded activities valued at governance and agreed to continue funding KSWs after $9,730,778 to improve local government service delivery the closure of SIKA-West. to 1,290,116 district residents in Farah, Badghis, Ghor, and • The KSW process was seen by district entities as a way Herat provinces. for their local government to be more responsive to their • As a result of KSW-identified deficiencies within local needs and concerns. governance capacities, 12,562 GIRoA personnel and • DEs were able to move effectively from shorter term district entity leadership received training and mentoring stabilization concerns to longer term district development using approved IDLG and MRRD materials, guidelines, and programming. KSWs are continuing under DGO frameworks. leadership, maintaining links with MRRD, provincial line • KSWs provided a neutral venue for the resolution of ministries, and third-party donors to continue improved community disputes under the leadership of the district governance and service delivery efforts. government, further cementing local government • District residents (male and female) had a voice in leadership and legitimacy. addressing their concerns and grievances and implementing locally appropriate solutions.
KEY RESULTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
• 402 transportation, agriculture, and irrigation, 64 “With the assistance of SIKA-West, District education and health, 63 vocational, and 6 governance Social Workers played a significant role grant-funded projects identified and awarded by SIKA- West to address CMPs and improve local government in monitoring and evaluating MRRD service delivery to district populations. programming at the district level; in addition • Strong female participation and engagement, resulting to supporting implementing CDC’s with the in a shift from traditional support for vocational programming to a more focused view onACKU district technical guidance to ensure a high level service infrastructure (health and education), which of project quality. DSW’s are a critical link served to better address both male and female district between MRRD and district communities resident grievances and served to undermine past discriminatory views. Female participation continues and their efforts built confidence amongst even after SIKA-West logistical and financial support district residents that MRRD was responsive has been withdrawn. to their needs.” • Increased district entity and community buy-in to local government leadership on matters related to BADGHIS DRRD DIRECTOR ( BADGHIS district governance and development programming. PROVINCE): MR. SAYED RASOUL AKBARI This explicit acknowledgement of leadership served (AUGUST 2015) to strengthen the legitimacy of DGOs in the target districts.
29 STABILIZATION SUCCESS STORY Long Overdue: Peace to a 30-Year Conflict between the Taimany Ha and Reza Tribes
Since 1984, the Taimany Ha and Reza tribes within Shahrak District have been in violent conflict with one another. While the battle began with the murder of prominent leaders from both tribes, the continued violent retaliations have led to the death, injury, and displacement of countless district residents. While there were occasional calls for calm, neither side was able to come to the table and negotiate a peaceful end.
In partnership with MRRD and IDLG, the Stability in Key Areas-West (SIKA-West) program established the Chaghcharan Tribal Conflict Resolution Committee (TCRC). Made up of leading provincial government officials, tribal leaders, and ulema, the TCRC was specifically tasked with identifying and addressing long-running and destructive tribal conflicts.
Led by the Ghor provincial government, with technical support provided by the SIKA-West program, the Chaghcharan TCRC engaged with the Taimany Ha and Reza tribal leaders in December 2013. Over the course of eight days, both sides submitted to the authority of the government and outlined the abuses committed, damage inflicted, compensation owed, and overall desire for a fair peace.
Under the guidance of the TCRC, a peace treaty was finally signed, which included the following terms: (a) Immediate opening of all roads in the district (b) Forbidding armed members of either tribe from traveling in the other’s territory (c) Forbidding illegal taxation of district residents (d) Allowance of the immediate return of all displaced district residents
This government-led, negotiated peace will enable the Ghor provincial government to support further development efforts for Shahrak District, development that could not take place until peace had first been established. Taimany Ha and RezaACKU Tribal Leaders Embrace After Agreement on Peace Deal in Shahrak
STABILIZATION 30 ACKU
Herat Service Provider Fair 31 STABILIZATION II. Resource Development
Provincial and District Entities to understand what organizations and provincial line departments work within their geographic areas, what kind of services they provide, and how the population can access those services.
A key component of SIKA-West was to improve both awareness of and access to available GIRoA and donor-funded resources and services within its target districts. Resource development programming was designed to assist provincial and district partners to recognize what types of government and non-governmental services were available within their geographical area and how they could be accessed by district populations. Prior to the commencement of SIKA-West, poor intra-governmental communication and lack of engagement between DGOs and their district populations were leading causes of a lack of resource awareness within the districts.
To address these communication shortcomings and integrate resource awareness, SIKA-West, in collaboration with IDLG and MRRD, developed and distributed provincial Service Provider Catalogs (SPCs) for provincial and district governments in Farah, Badghis, Ghor, and Herat. SIKA-West coupled these catalogs with active service provider hotlines operated by its provincial DRRD partners. The focus of SIKA’s resource development programming was to ensure that its IDLG and MRRD partners were able to access current and consolidated records of available GIRoA and non-governmental service providers, link these resources to KSWs, and publicize this information through catalogs and provincial hotlines, thus improving resource ACKUawareness at the provincial and district level. In collaboration with MRRD and IDLG and in line with the USAID-approved Service Provider Catalog (SPC) dissemination guide, SIKA-West identified, contacted, and assessed all available GIRoA line ministries and non-governmental service providers at the provincial and district level. Questionnaires and assessments were jointly prepared to obtain the information as efficiently as possible.
Through the leadership of the PGO, the program received the full support and cooperation of the line ministries. SIKA-West personnel worked together with its provincial and district MRRD and IDLG partners to interview respondents, receive and record information, and obtain updated contact details and methods of applying for services.
SIKA-West compiled this data into a concise and usable provincial SPC that met the needs of its program partners; was easily understood; and could be quickly stored,
RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT 32 reviewed, corrected, and updated in the years to come. Prior to printing and distribution, the SPCs were reviewed and approved by the program’s DGO, DRRD, and USAID partners, and public dissemination plans were agreed to, focusing distribution at the provincial and district level. “THE SIKA-WEST PROGRAM WAS SUCCESSFUL IN IMPROVING THE KUSHK-E-RABAT SANGI DGO’S The SPCs were designed to be distributed to the provincial MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS THROUGH A BETTER DRRD offices and DGOs, where personnel were present who possessed the capabilities to both understand and UNDERSTANDING AND IMPLEMENTATION communicate the SPC content to residents. The SIKA-West OF CURRENT SCOPE OF WORK, INCREASED team coupled the distribution of the SPCs with focused mentoring and training and organized provincial service COMMUNICATIONS WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES, provider fairs to further promote resource awareness and IMPROVED ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT IN availability. Editable, soft copies of the SPCs were provided to TERMS OF FILING, RECORDKEEPING SYSTEMS, our provincial and district partners so that content could be updated in the years to come. AND DAILY PROCESSING OF RECORDS, AND IMPROVED INTERNAL COORDINATION WITH To complement the SPC production and distribution, a THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF service provider hotline was established within the provincial DRRD offices, enabling designated personnel to receive and MONTHLY AND QUARTERLY WORK PLANS.” record provincial and district residents’ calls and provide current information on the availability of line ministry and non- MR. SHIR AQA SARWARI (AUGUST 2015), governmental services. Due to the existence of semi-literate KUSHK-E-RABAT SANGI DISTRICT GOVERNOR populations within the target districts, it was critical that (HERAT PROVINCE). SIKA-West also employ mobile phone technology to increase awareness. As a component of the program handover, MRRD committed to sustaining and funding both the use of the SPC and operation of these established provincial hotlines.
KEY RESULTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
• 986 (907 male and 79 female) GIRoA officials and DEs trained on how to develop and use the SPC and hotline. This training was centered within SIKA-West’sACKU four provincial DRRDs and 13 DGOs so that its partners would better understand the range and availability of services at the provincial and district level. • Four quarterly service provider fairs were conducted within Herat, Badghis, Ghor, and Farah enabling provincial and district providers to publicize the type and range of their services and inform 8,000 residents on how they can apply. • Four provincial service provider hotlines were established, one within each DRRD office, enabling residents to routinely call and receive contact details as well as a general overview of available GIRoA and non-governmental service providers within the province. • The program identified, prioritized, and undertook 23 CMP solutions through the KSWs using the SPC, linking stabilization and governance resiliency efforts to existing and available resources. Service providers included DGOs; the Department of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock (DAIL); the Department of Education (DoE); Afghan Aid; World Vision; and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). • SIKA-West distributed 6,000 SPCs and 20,000 SPC hotline cards within the target districts in Farah, Herat, Ghor, and Badghis provinces.
33 RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT SUCCESS STORY District Government Links Farmers to Service Providers & New Markets
Shindand District is home to almost 170,000 residents, many of whom depend directly and/or indirectly on farming and animal husbandry for their daily income. Considering the importance of these activities, the Shindand District Government, with the support of the Herat Department of Rural Rehabilitation & Development (DRRD) and the MRRD/IDLG Stability in Key Areas (SIKA) –West program, took the initiative to launch a “Market Day”, linking district farmers with agricultural service providers that could provide goods, training and access to new markets. With the support of the SIKA-West Communications & Public Outreach.
Department, the District Government selected the venue, arranged for service providers to be present and invited district farmers. On June 1st, 2014, more than 100 farmers attended the Shindand District Government “Market Day” event and engaged with the Tarhe Naw Food Processing Company, Babyee Zaferan (Saffron) Company, Improved Agricultural Seed Company and Holland Veterinary Committee among others. Early results include an agreement by the Holland Veterinary Committee to provide veterinary trainings and toolkits, while the Babyee Zaferan Company has committed to providing saffron cultivation trainings and purchasing saffron harvests.
“Organizing such events will help the farmers to increase their products, link with the markets and earn a Halal income,” Mr. Juma Khan, a farmer from Rajan village, Shindand District.
Farmers Exchange Contact Details With the Babyee Zaferan Company at the Shindand District Government Market Day on JuneACKU 01 2014 “It is the harvesting time, now you (the farmers) can contact the agricultural service providers and find market for your products.”
MR. ABDUL GHAFOOR AFZALI SHINDAND DISTRICT AGRICULTURE MANAGER
RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT 34 ACKU
Ghor Female GIRoA Personnel Hold Press Conference (Dec 2014) 35 RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT III. Communications and Outreach
Provincial Authorities to improve the ability to communicate with District Entities to help them better understand their populations’ needs and prioritize basic service delivery interventions.
SIKA-West was based on the understanding that for local government to improve stabilization and governance, it must have robust two-way communication systems, both internally between district, provincial, and national GIRoA departments and externally between local government and its citizens. In line with IDLG’s approved communications strategy, SIKA-West worked in 13 districts with district government partners to develop communication plans to raise awareness on the existing DGO line departments’ programming (administrative, health, agriculture, education, and security) and services available for district residents. SIKA-West collaborated with IDLG on the development and promotion of district government communication plans, which served to raise public awareness regarding DGO programming and highlight the availability of district resident services.
These plans were key components of renewed efforts to reengage local governments with their citizens, identify grievances, improve cooperation, address service delivery needs, support stabilization and governance efforts, and build effective and sustainable relationships between local government personnel and key disseminators of information within the district populations (DDAs, CDCs, tribal elders, ulema, etc.). Twenty-seven (27) individual communication plans were developed with DGOs and DEs, to accomplish the following: ACKU• Identify both internal and external communications deficiencies by undertaking comprehensive needs assessments, determining where stakeholder engagement needs improvement, and designing workshops and mentoring approaches to address these gaps and deficiencies. • Introduce available and affordable print, media, SMS, and hotline messaging, in addition to traditional public forums and community visits, to reenergize communications activities. • Establish and maintain strong working relationships between DGOs, DEs, opinion leaders, and district populations to encourage support for current local governance and stabilization programming. • Ensure that district stakeholders understand DGO or DE messaging and that communications are clear, timely, and consistent. • Enable feedback loops through hotlines and public meetings to assess message effectiveness and amend or improve communications programming.
COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH 36 KEY RESULTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
• 18 radio and TV events, reaching 208,904 district residents, promoting local government activities and informing residents how to access existing line department services. • 191,512 printed flyers, brochures, and posters, promoting local government transparency, existing services, and public announcements to keep district populations informed on local government affairs. • 13 DGO hotlines established, enabling district residents to easily contact their local government to follow up on available services; request support to address grievances; or provide feedback on recent district governance, stabilization, and development efforts.
The individual communication plans that were developed and available services, the value of youth associations, and varied, depending on the actor, extent of current engagement with district female leadership. These public communications programming in place, existing print and events and others like them brought local government and media capabilities and exposure, and current communications district communities together. For many residents, it was capabilities. Each plan used the following approach: the first time that GIRoA visited their communities or spoke directly to them about their concerns, increasing perceptions • Social, Technical, Economic, and Political (STEP) of local government legitimacy and transparency. assessments to provide background on the actors, stakeholders, operating environment, internal and RADIO AND TV EVENTS external communications capabilities, and communications resources. Information obtained from the STEP SIKA-West held 18 radio and television events, within assessment was coupled with a Strengths, Weaknesses, its target districts. Radio was the primary medium for Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis, enabling programming because it increased attendance at KSWs and a full understanding of the DE, the environment, the stakeholders, positive and negative internal and external factors, and underlying communications challenges. Chaghcharan resident receives SMS Message on GIRoA services • The communication plan required clear objectives in line (May 2014) with IDLG communication strategies and the desires of the DGO/DE. Generally, these objectives favored building trust between the DGO/DE and district stakeholders, encouraging stakeholders to support governance, stabilization, and district development programming and improving internal and external communications. • At the request of IDLG, communication plans were designed to be six to nine months in length, after which time progress was assessed and, if there wasACKU sufficient need, time, and resources, a second plan was implemented. All plans were approved by IDLG at the national, provincial, and district levels to ensure that they aligned with the overall IDLG communications strategy.
The SIKA-West DGO/DE communication plans accomplished the following:
DISTRICT PUBLIC OUTREACH EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES
SIKA-West DGO/DE partners organized and held 454 public meetings and outreach events, including district soccer tournaments, teachers and education, importance of farmers
37 COMMUNICATION AND OUTREACH Qadis District Tazkira fact sheet prepared by SIKA-West and distributed by partners
other events. Recognizing this medium as a strength within GENDER MAINSTREAMING communication plans, SIKA-West employed this resource to promote local governments’ role in facilitating KSWs to • 592 female DGO and DE leaders received identify and respond to key community grievances and to communications and public outreach capacity building, promote service provider catalogs and DGO hotlines. Radio with a focus on public speaking, advocacy, media programming included representation from DGOs and DDAs, training, and internal communications. Many individuals CDCs, and Ulema. used this training to identify critical concerns within their districts during the monthly KSWs and advocate SMS CAMPAIGNS for local government support. Many were successful in having grant funds allocated to rehabilitate girls’ To maximize the reach of DGO and DE communications, secondary schools, health clinics, and village road SIKA-West sent 6,072 messages through 14 SMS campaigns networks and flood protection walls, which benefited to key district populations. These campaigns reinforced local both male and female district residents. Due to the governments’ achievements in delivering services,ACKU provided success of this engagement, KSWs continued to invite information on how to reach DGO line female members to speak and take part in district governance and development discussions, reflecting a significant shift in attitude at the district level among departments for support (health, education, agriculture, etc.), DGOs and DE leadership. announced public events, and invited DEs to KSWs. SMS proved to be effective in reaching larger numbers of district • Capacity-building support was also successful in residents as messages continued through word of mouth. improving internal communications between female KSW members (DDA, CDC, and community DGO Personnel Conducted 81 Visits to District Communities leaders) and the provincial DoWA. While leading the Despite insecurity in a number of districts and transportation provincial gender working groups, DoWA personnel limitations, DGO personnel traveled to district communities, are maintaining contacts with female district met village leaders, listened to and addressed concerns, leadership so that they may benefit from current and inspected and assessed progress of SIKA-West infrastructure future programming. and vocational projects, spoke to residents, publicized SPC and
COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH 38 Example of a GIRoA Produced Brochure, The Bala Boluk DGO Directory
DGO hotlines, and established and reinforced relationships. petitions, often unsuccessfully. To improve communications The visits were a welcome surprise to many communities, and encourage residents to contact and engage with their who could not recall the last time GIRoA officials visited them. DGOs, a dedicated hotline number was established and publicized. DGOs immediately began receiving calls from ESTABLISHED 13 DGO HOTLINES district residents requesting for community disputes, deal with law and order issues, resolve land use rights, improve security DGOs lacked a dedicated phone line to receive resident calls, conditions, monitor district development programming, and record their concerns, and forward these matters to the provide additional services. Recognizing the importance of appropriate line departments. Without this resource, district this effort, IDLG agreed to sustain and fund the DGO hotlines residents would travel in person to DGOs and submit their after SIKA-West ended.
Capacity Building
The GIRoA personnel and DE leadership that received to district population concerns. The feedback indicated that capacity-building support in communications and public public forums and community visits by DGO personnel had an outreach included 3,222 staff (2,630 male and 592 overwhelmingly positive effect, allowing local populations to female). Centered on the IDLG-approved communication receive updates on local government activities and share their plans, these trainings, workshops, and mentoring sessions concerns and increasing cooperation between DGOs and improved program partners’ ability to streamline internal communities. Brochures, flyers, and fact sheets kept residents communications. Results included increased interactionACKU informed on how to access available services and provided and communications between DGOs and PGOs; regular contact details for line ministries. coordination meetings instituted by DGO line departments, which enabled clear and timely updates on district governance Residents saw these efforts as strong improvements in activities; increased engagement between DGOs and communication and a positive step toward establishing and district populations; and, through use of flyers, brochures, maintaining trust between local governments and their posters, factsheets, and SMS messaging, promotion by local populations; however, feedback indicated that more needed governments of their capabilities and responsiveness to to be done to improve the technical capacities of DGO population needs. staff in the longer term to sustain these improvements. In terms of responsiveness, many communities felt that Focus groups provided critical feedback on programming their local government was responsive to the extent that effectiveness, particularly on whether DGO internal and available resources would enable them but that they would external communications improved, whether district residents require further support from the national government and felt that communication efforts increased their level of trust in international donors. local government, and whether the DGO and DEs responded
39 COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH SUCCESS STORY Hashar, Local Government Employs Volunteers
The Muqur District Governor, Mr. Abdul Hadi Badghisi, with the support from USAID’s Stability In Key Areas (SIKA) – West, initiated a public works project in Zad Naser Village which was completed using the traditional Hashar (Volunteer) concept. This activity was a component of the Muqur District Government Communication Plan, which serves to strengthen engagement between the district government and residents.
Residents of Zad Naser Village depend heavily on available water to support their crops and livestock. In early April, 2014, members of this community requested support from the Muqur District Governor to assist them in cleaning an irrigation canal which provides water for 110 jeribs of farmland and had become blocked over time. Recognizing the importance of using available district resources to address residents’ concerns, the District Governor and his staff assisted Zad Naser Village to organize a Hashar (Public Voluntary Scheme) to clean the irrigation canal on April 22, 2014.
“Hashar is a symbol of unity, we ourselves should work for the development of our community,” Mr. Obaidullah, the District Chief of Police. “We, the farmers, appreciate the District Governor’s support in addressing our problems,” said, Mr. Mohammad Afzal, a farmer. “The District Governor’s support encourages the farmers to increase their engagement in resolving their community problems independently” he added.
BY ORGANIZING THE HASHAR TO ADDRESS THE IRRIGATION NEEDS OF ZAD NASER VILLAGE, THE MUQUR DISTRICT GOVERNMENT TOOK THE LEAD TO ADDRESS A COMMUNITY PROBLEM, USING AVAILABLE DISTRICT RESOURCES AND DISTRICT GOVERNMENTACKU PERSONNEL.
“I am happy I am seeing this unity of farmers, this shows you can independently address your problems.”
MR. ABDUL HADI BADGHISI, MUQUR DISTRICT GOVERNOR
COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH 40 ACKU
The Bazarcha CDC 140-ML Flood Protection Wall Project Expected to Safeguard 600 Jeribs of Farmland 41 COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH IV. Community Development
Provincial authorities to be able to improve basic service delivery by using GIRoA, CDCs, DDAs, and ASOP DCCs, which gain capacity to plan, design, implement, and monitor projects, with a focus on labor-intensive projects and productive infrastructure.
Constrained by a lack of resources and technical skill sets, a key focus of SIKA- West was to provide grant funding and technical support to enable local governments to respond to identified CMPs through improved infrastructure and vocational service delivery.
Working in collaboration with IDLG, MRRD, DDAs, CDCs, and community leaders, SIKA-West utilized the existing MRRD Kandahar Model and integrated its community development and grant-funded program delivery into the existing district based NABDP and NSP programming cycles. SIKA-West regularly shared planned activities to ensure that there was agreement on the project location, scope, and budget and that duplication was avoided. SIKA-West also collaborated with its provincial partners to identify problematic CDCs that had failed to fully perform under MRRD programming. The program received MRRD capacity-building materials from the SIKA unit and CLDD in Kabul. These materials included NSP and NABDP manuals as well as technical engineering guidelines for infrastructure ACKUprogramming (roads, bridges, etc.). SIKA-West employed the Kandahar Model, which hinges on greater community participation in the design, development, and implementation of district development programming. The goal is to provide a bottom-up approach to the identification and implementation of priority projects for district residents so that these residents have a voice in the development of their local communities. Through the use of the KSW to identify and award grant-funded programming and the employment of FOGs to ensure that CDC and DDA stakeholders had the opportunity to manage their own project implementation, SIKA-West attests that district stakeholders had a strong role in how district development programming was decided and that the program met every aspect of the Kandahar Model.
Within KSWs, members discussed and debated the most significant CMPs and SOIs affecting their communities and, with the support of SIKA-West, identified appropriate GIRoA-led solutions.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT 42 The Qarqa Now CDC Construction of a 3410-Meter Long Water Piping Network
KEYACKU RESULTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS • 535 grant-funded projects valued at $9.7 million, identified and awarded by SIKA-West to improve service delivery within its 16 target districts, benefitting 1,579,805 residents. Of these, 470 were infrastructure grants and 63 were vocational training grants. All required a minimum community contribution of 10%. • 343,053 (339,415 male and 3,638 female) employment days provided to implement infrastructure grants and 104,530 (34,043 male and 70,487 female) training days provided under vocational training grants. • 65% of residents within target districts reported improvements in service delivery by DEs. • 402 transportation, agriculture, and irrigation, 64 education and health, 6 governance (DDA equipment) and 63 vocational grants identified, awarded, implemented, and managed by MRRD and IDLG stakeholders to support local stabilization, governance, and district development programming. • 154 PMTs held, with 2,921 (2813 male and 108 female) grantees trained in project management roles and responsibilities, technical scope, budget, milestones, environmental considerations quality control, procurement, warehousing, and community contribution.
43 SERVICE DELIVERY PROJECTS The grant-funded infrastructure solutions identified by DEs and approved by MRRD and IDLG can be grouped under the following: • Lack of flood protection infrastructure (gabions and stone masonry flood protection and retaining walls) • Lack of access to potable water and irrigation water (water piping networks, irrigation canals, reservoirs) • Inadequate educational facilities (school rehabilitation and equipment grants) • Inadequate health facilities (clinic rehabilitation) • Lack of investment in district infrastructure (road and culvert rehabilitation, bridge construction) • Lack of skills sets and unemployment (vocational training) “SIKA-WEST PROGRAMMING, IN PARTICULAR CAPACITY BUILDING SUPPORT, IMPROVED LOCAL Within 315 GIRoA-led KSWs, 21 common CMPs were determined, leading to 650 solutions, of which 535 were GOVERNANCE AND HELPED TO CLOSE THE approved and finalized as grant award agreements. For a GAP BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AND DISTRICT complete record of all grant-funded project activity, please RESIDENTS. THE PROGRAM PROVIDED LOCAL refer to Annex B. Master Project Tracker. COMMUNITIES WITH THE FEELING THAT THEY After grant award agreements were finalized, SIKA-West HAVE A ROLE IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT. THROUGH worked closely with the grantee (DDA/CDC) to prepare STABILIZATION ACTIVITIES WHICH RESOLVED for the first round of Project Management Training (PMT), which provided the grantees with a detailed overview of TRIBAL CONFLICTS AND PROVIDED DISTRICT their project management roles and responsibilities, project DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMING, THE SOBAT scope, budget, milestone requirements, environmental considerations, quality control concerns, material procurement PROGRAM CHANGED PEOPLE’S MINDS AND process, warehousing and storage, and community THEY REALIZED THAT DISTRICT STABILIZATION contribution. These events generally ran four days in length, EFFORTS WOULD REQUIRE ALL OF US WORKING with DGO personnel and MRRD DSWs taking a leading role in presenting materials to grantees, with technical support TOGETHER.” provided by SIKA-West personnel. GHOR DEPUTY PROVINCIAL GOVERNOR ( Once the project had broken ground, grantees were GHOR PROVINCE): MR. MOHAMMAD AMIN mentored on every aspect of the implementation with TOKHI (AUGUST 2015) oversight provided by DGO personnel, DSWs, and SIKA- West personnel. Funding for the projects was disbursed after agreed milestones were completed, ranging in number from one to four (depending on the size and valueACKU of the project). Milestones were not approved without thorough verification and documentation (including GPS and photographs) provided by the grantees, IDLG, MRRD, and SIKA-West, ensuring a multi-tiered monitoring and verification approach. The projects were not considered complete unless approved by the project’s IDLG and MRRD partners, reinforcing the view that this was local government-led district development and service delivery.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT 44 Local Government Delivering Results
BEFORE AFTER Chaghcharan Akhta Khana Culvert Chaghcharan Akhta Khana Culvert
ACKU BEFORE AFTER Poor Irrigation System for Farmers in Chap Rodha Village, The Chap Rodha KSW Successfully Construct an Qadis District Aqueduct to Provide Sufficient Water for 150 Acres of Farmland
45 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SUCCESS STORY Local Government Reconnects District Community
With oversight from the Kushk-e Rabat Sangi District Government and technical support from the Herat Department of Rural Rehabilitation & Development, the Khowja Gul Baid Community Development Council successfully managed the construction of a Community Bridge (10 Meter Length & 4 Meter Width) which improves connections for 1,000 families within Khowja Gul Baidak Village and access to neighboring villages, as well as the District Center.
Valued at USD $44,026, the construction of the Community Bridge employed 24 community laborers and was completed on June 10, 2015. While residents have improved access within the community, the bridge has made it much easier for 320 students (150 boys, 170 girls) to travel from their homes to the village school which lies on the opposite side of the canal.
“Now that the bridge is constructed, students can cross the canal safely and go to their school which is located on the other side of the canal. Before that, students had to walk long distances using an alternative road,” Mr. Abdullah Nasrat, Kushk-e Rabat Sangi District Government Executive Manager.
“We had difficulties getting to the hospital and marketplaces within the District Center because there was no bridge over the canal. This was especially true in winter, our thanks to the District Government for their support,” Mr. Rangin, Khowja Gul Baid CDC Chairman. ACKU
BEFORE AFTER For years, residents in Khowja Gul Baidak Village, Kushk-e Funded by the USAID Stability In Key Areas (SIKA)-West Rabat Sangi District, Herat Province were separated program, with oversight and technical support from the by a canal that runs through the community, preventing Kushk-e Rabat Sangi District Government and Herat students on one side of the canal from easily traveling to DRRD, the Khowja Gul Baid Community Development the village school on the other side. Council constructed a Community Bridge in Khowja Gul Baidak Village.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT 46 ACKU
Hundreds of People Visited the MRRD & IDLG SIKA Farah Booth During the Kabul Agricultural Fair 47 WAY FORWARD V. Governance
Build and improve upon current administrative and service delivery knowledge/skill sets, which will improve the effectiveness and resiliency of GIRoA and equip provincial/ district partners with the tools necessary to address local government stabilization and governance objectives.
Recognizing that each of the SIKA-West IR program components (stabilization, resource development, and communications and public outreach and community development) contained its own capacity-building components, the role of the governance department was to focus on improving existing administrative and governance systems within the target DGOs, enabling this support to add value to the other program component activities. Governance programming was designed around existing MRRD and IDLG-approved capacity-building guidelines, frameworks, training materials, and District Government Capacity Indexes, which enabled SIKA-West personnel to identify and address weaknesses within the administrative capacities of DGOs and focus their programmatic efforts.
The primary focus of SIKA-West’s governance programming was to strengthen and improve district governments’ existing capabilities and the delivery of administrative services to resident populations. This was accomplished by focusing support on those services that were present and funded by available GIRoA budgets, ensuring the sustainability of these services after the program concluded. In addition, strategic support was also provided to DGOs and DEs to support their governance and service delivery roles when engaged in program-supported KSW leadership, ACKUresource identification and development, grant-funded tracking, and coordination with multiple line ministries (MRRD, DoE, DoH, and DOLSA).
Prior to the launch of programming, capacity assessments were undertaken to identify the following: (a) existing capabilities and skill sets of DGO personnel and DEs and to what extent these individuals were engaged in local governance or service delivery programming; (b) current range and scope of service delivery programming and resources utilized; (c) requirements for service delivery and existing gaps; and (d) need for targeted technical and material support.
The capacity assessments were based on four progressive development stages: (a) start-up phase; (b) developmental phase; (c) consolidation phase; and (d) sustainable phase. Each performance phase was divided into its respective sub-performance areas and indicators. Each indicator was scored, reflecting overall beneficiary performance, and used as an implementation guideline.
GOVERNANCE 48 District Government Capacity Index Scale Score Phase Definition Below minimum requirements: DGO is a long way from being a mature institution and requires intensive 1–2 Start-up capacity building. 3–4 Developmental At minimum requirements: DGO is on the path to maturity but still needs to enhance performance. Above minimum requirements: DGO has made significant progress toward the desired level of maturity 5–6 Consolidation and independence, understanding roles and responsibilities, but could improve with capacity building inputs in specific areas. Well above minimum requirements: The DGO has reached the desired level of maturity and independence. It provides good governance and meets all expectations with respect to its role and 7–8 Sustainable responsibilities. Improvements may be needed where the DGO is not doing as well, with the support of specific capacity inputs.
The capacity index scale was populated based on the findings 10. Planning of the assessments, which employed the capacity assessment 11. Monitoring and evaluation methodology (see table on next page). Also refer to the District Government Organizational Chart on While the DGOs within SIKA-West target regions required following page. a broad range of capacity-building support, it was critical to focus efforts on the overall DGO management, which would Following the IDLG-approved capacity assessments, SIKA- in turn benefit individual line department sectors (health, West implemented the following: education, labor, agriculture, etc.). For the most part, DGOs fell into the range of start-up phase or developmental phase. 1. STAFF INPUT SUPPORT At these levels, basic management needed to be improved, To address a lack of coordination and communication among employing existing resources and building a sustainable DGO personnel and line departments, SIKA-West worked platform for follow-up capacity-building support. closely with DGOs to establish monthly coordination Government Function – Management Components: meetings enabling line departments (sectorial, finance, law, etc.) to provide updates on activities and program targets 1. Staff input and request technical and material assistance from provincial 2. Staff capability line departments. This practice, which remains in place 3. Staff training today, ensures that DGO personnel remain informed on 4. Recordkeeping and file systems district-wide GIRoA programming and can track activities. 5. Delegation SIKA-West also supported quarterly meetings between 6. Personnel systems District Governors and the Provincial Governor, ensuring 7. Administrative procedures that governance programming updates were being clearly 8. Public outreach communicated and feedback was received. This practice also 9. Media relations remains in effect using existing GIRoA budget resources. Capacity Assessment MethodologyACKU
Preparations Field (Dari version assessment team of DGCI, DGCI/ questions tree, Provide regular technical Presentation Scorecard presentation, Data Analysis Packaging the guidance of the rated role plays, Review findings findings into a Question tree scorecard group work, Conduct consolidated technical review Assign scores in Prepare Instruments Instruments Prepare Presentation to agenda) Presentation baseline survey DGCI Baseline Survey of the work the score card IDLG Assessment Team Train of field report Conduct and provide experiences training feedback Briefing Team Assessment
Provide ReportDGCI Baseline Survey Training coordination Report support
49 GOVERNANCE District Govenor
Executive Manager
Sectorial Executive Finance Village Manager Officer Manager Manager
Income Extension Demography Law Attorney N-S Chief of Education Court Judge Manager Manager Manager Manager Manager Manager Police Manager
Income Extension Demography Judge M&E Member Member Member Member Member Manager
Literacy Manager
RRD Social RRD Social Telecommunication Worker Worker Manager Executive Officer
DGO Organizational Chart
COMMON RESULTS OF DGO/DE CAPACITY ASSESSMENTS
• Many personnel were not suitably preparedACKU for their roles in administration, human resources, finance, organizational management, recordkeeping, communications, and community engagement, lacking experience, education, and technical ability. • Internal technical support or mentoring to DGO personnel was lacking, either by provincial counterparts or the IDLG capacity-building unit. • Many DGO personnel were unable to perform in their roles and deliver needed administrative services to residents. Simple administrative tasks were being routinely referred to the PGOs as DGOs were unable to perform. • DGO absenteeism was a significant problem in less-secure districts (Bala Baluk, Khak-e-Safed, Shindand, and Shahrak). In some cases, only the district executive manager was present, with remaining employees residing in the provincial centers. • Some DGOs did not have all of their available positions filled for long periods of time due to a lack of resources. • Material resources (furniture and administrative materials) to perform tasks effectively was often lacking. SIKA-West was unsuccessful in learning the real value of DGO budgets.
GOVERNANCE 50 2. STAFF CAPABILITY (b) In February 2014, with the support of SIKA-West, the Bala Baluk DGO (Farah Province) organized the delivery of To tackle capacity deficiencies, SIKA-West personnel used 2,500 saplings from the provincial DAIL to district farmers. approved IDLG governance materials, raising internal Lobbied by the district farmers for support to deal with organizational and administrative systems to a minimum soil erosion, the DG arranged for a request for saplings to acceptable level. Examples of these efforts include the following: be submitted through the District Agriculture Department to their provincial office. While this was pending, DGO (a) In January 2014, with the support of SIKA-West, the Bala personnel organized a list of recipients and delivery Baluk District Government (Farah Province) personnel arrangements. Within a matter of weeks, the saplings provided Tazkiras (national ID cards) to members of arrived and were distributed and planted, reflecting that the district’s Kuchi (nomadic) population. Without these improved coordination and organizational planning at the Tazkiras, the Kuchi populations were unable to enjoy DGO level. GIRoA-run health and education services within the district. While the Kuchis had applied for these documents in the past, district personnel, stating that it was not their responsibility, repeatedly sent them to the PGO. After the THE FIRST DISTRICT STABILIZATION establishment of new organizational systems and review of personnel job descriptions by governance personnel, it COMMITTEE (DSC) ELECTED FOR was clear that the DGO must provide this service. With BALA BALUK DISTRICT support from the DG, Tazkira issuance resumed in an organized fashion and continues today. The feedback from On August 8, 2012, despite ongoing fighting between the district population was overwhelmingly positive. Afghan forces and anti-government elements, more than 30 people from the volatile Bala-Baluk District in Farah Province, traveled to the district center during the holy Ramadan period to participate in a meeting to create the first District Stabilization Committee (DSC) under the USAID funded, Stability in Key Areas (SIKA)- West project. “THE SIKA-WEST PROGRAM WAS SUCCESSFUL IN IMPROVING THE KRS DGO’S MANAGEMENT Despite their exhaustion from fasting, participants consisting of district authorities, District Development FUNCTIONS THROUGH A BETTER Assembly (DDA) members, Community Development UNDERSTANDING AND IMPLEMENTATION OF Council (CDC) members, and representatives from the CURRENT SCOPE OF WORK (SOW’S); INCREASED local Afghan National Police (ANP), Afghan National Army (ANA), and Youth organizations attended the COMMUNICATIONS WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES; meeting at the District Governor’s Office to elect the IMPROVED ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT IN 15 members of the DSC. The DSC members included TERMS OF FILING, RECORDKEEPING SYSTEMS the District Governor as Chair, five DDA members, the District Police Chief, one representative from the ANA AND DAILY PROCESSING OF RECORDS; AND and seven line department members. IMPROVED INTERNAL COORDINATIONACKU WITH The meeting was an example of a “sustainable process”, THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF a fundamental undercurrent in the SIKA-West project MONTHLY AND QUARTERLY WORKPLANS.” scope. It was organized in coordination with local government officials, a process which district entities KUSHK-E-RABAT SANGI DISTRICT GOVERNOR (DEs) will be able to maintain following the proposed (HERAT PROVINCE): MR. SHIR AQA SARWARI 2014 withdrawal. As part of this sustainable approach, (AUGUST 2015) participants did not receive a cash allowance to attend the event.
The meeting resulted in the election of 15 individuals who will help identify sources of instability in Bala-Baluk District and will propose mitigation activities which will help bolster government support at the district level.
51 GOVERNANCE 3. STAFF TRAINING “IT IS THE DUTY AND RESPONSIBILITY OF ALL In all, 162 formal trainings were provided, many with PEOPLE IN BALA-BALUK TO BRING STABILITY INTO multiple modules coupled with daily on-the-job mentoring, OUR HOMES.” as SIKA-West personnel worked side-by-side with DGO staff to improve their management and performance MR. SAID MOHAMMAD, BALA-BALUK DISTRICT capabilities. The formal trainings and on-the-job training GOVERNOR focused on the following: • Conflict and disaster management These formal trainings were designed to build and maintain • Work plan development the minimum organizational and management requirements • Project management within the DGOs. All training materials were a component • General leadership/management principles of the SIKA-West and IDLG governance training plan and • Gender mainstreaming were approved in advance by the IDLG SIKA Unit. For many junior DGO personnel, this was the first opportunity • Financial management they had in years to receive any form of organized capacity- • General administration training building programming. In all, 72 training suites (modules, • Procurement and budgeting presentations, manuals, and handouts) were provided, • Inventory asset management including but not limited to risk assessment methodologies, strategic communications, time and task management, • Organizational management budgeting, general administration, human resources, work • Filing systems and record keeping plan development, and report writing, with copies of these • Job description materials left behind within the DGO library after the handover of SIKA-West programming. • Review/development/coaching
Gender Mainstreaming Work Planning Session, Herat Provinces ACKU
GOVERNANCE 52 4. RECORDKEEPING AND FILE SYSTEMS (DoLSA); and (d) obtaining marriage certificates from district courts. The range of existing administrative services varied Within the majority of partner DGOs, recordkeeping and filing across DGOs, depending on available personnel and budget systems were limited, resulting in large numbers of documents resources to cover administrative-material requirements. being misplaced or unable to be located when required. This The results of SIKA-West governance programming reflect deficiency was addressed by SIKA-West, which worked closely reasonable improvements in overall DGO organizational with the DGO executive leadership to ensure that work management, administrative service delivery, recordkeeping, product and critical documents were organized and properly and human resources, revealing increased technical capacities filed, accessible when required and recorded in soft copy form in these keys areas and improved DGO personnel’s where computerized equipment was already in place. understanding of their roles and responsibilities. However, these gains are fragile and still place the project’s DGO 5. Administrative Procedures The focus was to ensure partners within the developmental phase. To build on these that district administrative services were formalized into successes, a steady focus needs to be maintained on these guidelines so that both DGO personnel and district residents DGO capacities, with particular emphasis placed on continued understood how to access these services and what steps assessments, regular capacity-building support by IDLG, and information were required. Key examples included (a) engagement and feedback from district populations, strategic guidelines for obtaining Tazkiras (national identity cards; (b) planning with respect to key services and available financial receipt of secondary school diplomas from the Ministry resources, and continued internal communications between of Education (MoE); (c) Receiving pensions from the DGOs and PGOs. Department of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs, and Disabled
PASHTUN ZARGHUN DISTRICT GOVERNOR HOLDS PRESS CONFERENCE AT PROJECT SITE VISIT OF A 44 METER FLOOD PROTECTION WALL IN QALA YOUSEF KHAN VILLAGE
“AS A RESULT OF SIKA-WEST EFFORTS, NOW THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND RESIDENTS ARE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THEIR PROBLEMS AND FIND ACKUSOLUTIONS”
MR. FARHAD RAUFIAN, PASHTUN ZARGHUN DISTRICT GOVERNOR.
53 GOVERNANCE SUCCESS STORY Say “No To Corruption” Drama
Recognizing the importance of tackling corruption, the Kushk-e-Rabat Sangi District Government staff with the support of the Stability In Key Areas West (SIKA-West) program and Herat Theater Office organized an Anti-Corruption Drama at the District Centre on February 9th 2014.
The drama aimed to raise awareness amongst district government staff on both the dangers of corruption and highlight their responsibilities in combating this problem.
Present during the drama, were district government line department personnel, members of the district anti-corruption unit, local influential leaders and district residents. Posters and pens with various anti-corruption messages were distributed to the audience. One of these messages read “Together We Will Eradicate Corruption.”
“Corruption erodes our national values and negatively affects our economy. The President has created the Anti-Corruption Department in order to tackle corruption in the Civil service and I will make sure that all issues related to corruption are followed up quickly to ensure good governance,” Mr. Abdullah Nasrat, the District Executive Manager.
‘SAY NO TO CORRUPTION’ WAS THE MAIN MESSAGE OF THE ANTI-CORRUPTION DRAMA PERFORMED IN THE KUSHK-E- RABAT SANGI DISTRICT CENTER
“We are all MuslimsACKU and our religion is strongly against corruption. Corruption is not only distasteful but also prohibited in Islam.”
MR. RANJOUR, ANTI-CORRUPTION DEPARTMENT
GOVERNANCE 54 ACKU
Student Celebrating International Children’s Day in Kushk-e Rabat Sangi District, Herat Province 55 GOVERNANCE Gender Mainstreaming
SIKA-West gender mainstreaming programming integrated male and female district resident and government personnel perspectives and input into GIRoA-led stabilization and governance activities. Employing the KSW as a district programming pivot point, SIKA-West identified and supported male and female community leaders, ensuring that sufficient resources were available to enable both groups to actively engage in KSW discussions, identify and address CMPs, understand how to access provincial and district resources, improve their capacity to communicate their needs, and play a leading role in the implementation of district development.
Stabilization
A key component of SIKA-West was the inclusion of both male and female views, perspectives, and concerns when identifying, prioritizing, and screening community grievances and deciding upon GIRoA-led solutions. With the support of SIKA-West, district government and provincial DRRD partners understood the importance of all viewpoints to ensure that local governance and district development were responsive and effective to all their residents. Each of the program’s 22 KSWs incorporated female participation, through mixed KSW meetings (where male and ACKUfemale members were present) or separate male and female KSWs in those districts where GIRoA deemed it culturally appropriate.
Female KSW participants (GIRoA personnel, DDA members, CDC members) can now take a leading role in the identification and prioritization of district concerns, improving the delivery of GIRoA-led basic services. Through mentoring and technical support, female KSW participation focused on district health and educational concerns, improving accessibility for district residents to critical GIRoA services and building confidence among female leaders that their concerns would be recognized and prioritized by local government authorities.
Female KSW members were provided with monthly capacity-building support and mentoring to ensure their understanding of the SAM process and of how to prioritize and screen CMPs/SOIs, identify viable solutions, and discuss the appropriate allocation of GIRoA or available third-party resources. Each month, in advance of the upcoming
GENDER MAINSTREAMING 56 KSW, gender officers would work with female participants to courses, implemented through an Afghan-led NGO discuss the status of overall district stabilization programming called Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (CHA), efforts, review the participants’ understanding of the SAM successfully raised awareness among women regarding the process, highlight priorities, prepare talking points, and obtain importance of prenatal care and the availability and contact feedback on the impact of recent GIRoA-led service delivery details of local health services, while also linking these efforts. Within mixed KSWs, the program enabled a large women to other available services. number of female participants to speak publicly for the first • In September 2014, female leaders within Lash Wa Juwayn time and share their views on district community grievances. District (Farah Province) noticed a drop-off in attendance Their ability to clearly and effectively communicate their at the local Naw Abab Secondary School. They realized concerns led to local governments supporting 66 female- that the falloff was due to the poor conditions of the focused district interventions where resources could be building’s surrounding walls, causing parents to fear for the applied to address immediate needs in health care, education, safety of their children. During the KSW meeting, female rural infrastructure, and vocational training. leaders spoke and were successful in having the district government award funds to build a new 200 meter long Examples of GIRoA-led interventions identified by female surrounding wall. KSW participants include the following: • In August 2014, to improve the quality of medical care • In February 2013, concerned about the mortality rate received by all district residents, the female members of of young mothers and children in remote communities the Kohsan District (Herat Province) KSW convinced their within Pusht Rod District (Farah Province), female KSW district government to rehabilitate the Kohsan Health Clinic members successfully lobbied their district government as it was falling into disrepair, benefiting 9,000 male and to fund and launch community-based health education female district residents who use the clinic on a regular basis. courses for village midwives in district communities. These
Governance FEMALE KSW PARTICIPATION SIKA-West focused on improving the administrative and governance capabilities of both male and female GIRoA • Sixty-six infrastructure and vocational grant-funded personnel. During the implementation time frame, none projects were identified and awarded through of its partner DGOs employed female personnel in an the KSWs to specifically address female district administrative capacity; however, SIKA-West was able to resident grievances. Twenty percent of these grant concentrate its gender mainstreaming efforts to encourage awards were focused on school rehabilitation, flood productivity of male and newly hired female staff within the protection, and rural road rehabilitation efforts, Farah, Ghor, and Badghis PGOs (reflecting the award of Farah reflecting to KSW members the important benefits Center, Chaghcharan, and Qala-e-Naw districts during the obtained when all district stakeholders have an base and option periods). opportunity to participate. • Female perspectives and inputs are now an accepted SIKA-West governance programming was designed around component of the KSW discussions, whereas in the existing MRRD and IDLG guidelines, frameworks,ACKU and past, female input was almost nonexistent. Local materials, with a focus on strengthening local governments’ governments now recognize that female resident input capacity to improve their governance competencies and has a pronounced and positive effect on stabilization, delivery of administrative services to resident populations. Of governance, and development programming for all the 1,459 GIRoA personnel and DE leadership that received district residents. capacity-building support in governance administration • After withdrawing all technical, logistical, and financial systems, 139 were female. SIKA-West worked with female support from the GIRoA-led KSWs in March 2015, KSW members in Farah Center, Chaghcharan, and Qala- SIKA-West witnessed the continued participation of e-Naw to ensure that they learned how to improve their female KSW members at the invitation of both local organizational behavior and understanding of GIRoA government officials and male district leadership. This administrative systems, including (1) inventory tracking, practice was not in effect in 2012 when SIKA-West filing, and record keeping; (2) organizational management; started and reflects a complete change in attitude at (3) procurement and finance systems; (4) disaster risk the district level. management; (5) work plan development; (6) civil service
57 GENDER MAINSTREAMING law; and (7) report writing. Female KSW participants used • Female KSW participants in Farah Center organized these skill sets to organize themselves and fully participate in themselves to lobby the Farah DoE to renew its efforts KSW discussions and prioritization of community needs; link in providing required capacity-building support to female their groups to existing DOWA-led gender mainstreaming secondary school teachers in Lash Wa Juwayn District. In programming; and, for those who were GIRoA employees, February 2015, without financial or logistical support from improve their administrative efforts in providing services to SIKA-West, the DoE provided 36 female schoolteachers district populations. with coaching on the existing secondary school curriculum, providing both guidance on pedagogical approaches and Examples of GIRoA-led governance initiatives led by female feedback on questions raised. This was the first time that KSW participants include the following: such focused support had been provided to female district schoolteachers in a number of years. Resource Development
SIKA-West ensured that both male and female KSW Examples of female engagement include the following: participants were aware of and able to access available GIRoA and donor-funded resources and services. The program’s • Promotion of health, education, agriculture, and rural creation of SPCs, DRRD service provider hotlines, and DGO infrastructure programming, available to both male and hotlines were all designed to maximize resource awareness female district residents, during SIKA-West–organized among male and female district residents and link available provincial service provider fairs in Herat, Ghor, Badghis, services to address KSW-identified CMPs. and Farah. • Showcasing of district female residents goods and Of the 986 GIRoA personnel and DE leadership who were services by provincial DoWA authorities to promote trained on the development and use of SPCs, 79 were female cottage industries. members of the existing KSWs. These women were actively • Use of DGO hotlines by female district residents to engaged within KSW forums and were able to disseminate request local government support in addressing grievances. SPC catalog information and hotline phone numbers to larger • Use of DRRD SPC hotlines to obtain information and contact numbers of district women. details on available GIRoA and donor-funded services.
Women’s Day Brochure ACKU
GENDER MAINSTREAMING 58 Communications and Public Outreach
To enable male and female KSW members to fully participate Examples of female engagement include the following: in the stabilization and governance dialogue, SIKA-West needed to ensure that it supported a robust two-way • Successfully advocated for local governments to communication system between local government and its provide resources for 66 grant-funded vocational and citizens. The program’s gender mainstreaming focus was to infrastructure projects in 16 target districts, benefitting enable district residents to improve their capabilities in both 132,292 male and female residents. These interventions clearly communicating their views with local government were a direct result of female KSW members actively authorities and receiving steady exposure to DGO actions, speaking and participating in stabilization discussions and capabilities, and achievements. convincing their local government representatives to take action. Female membership continues to play a critical Of the 3,222 GIRoA personnel and DEs trained in improved role in independently funded GIRoA-led KSWs that have communications capabilities, 592 were female and were continued even as SIKA-West has closed down. drawn from the existing ranks of KSW members, as well • Female KSW members played an integral role in as community leaders. With the support of SIKA-West, identifying 23 GIRoA- and third-party donor-funded these women received focused support on improving their service delivery interventions to assist district populations capabilities in public speaking, advocacy, media training, and in addressing critical needs (benefiting 969 male and 46 internal communications and used these skill sets to connect female district residents). GIRoA resources with district communities in need.
Female KSW Members Prepare Talking Points – Kushk-e-Rabat Sangi ACKU
59 GENDER MAINSTREAMING The Paeen Deh Nashin CDC Rehabilitate the Community High School in Guzara District
Community Development
SIKA-West supported female CDC and DDA members to to a more focused view on district development participate in grant award agreement project management programming (health, education, and rural infrastructure), training to enable them to understand and implement projects. which served to better address both male and female Of the 2,921 individuals trained, 108 were female CDC or district resident grievances and served to undermine past DDA members who received technical support in project discriminatory views. management roles and responsibilities, technical scope, budget, • Female engagement led to sound and capable milestones, environmental considerations, quality control, management of focused grant award agreements designed procurement, warehousing, and community contribution. to increase educational and health-related services for female residents. These CDC and DDA members were Examples of female engagement include theACKU following: active in ensuring that these projects met prescribed • Strong female participation and engagement resulted in a milestones and were executed in accordance with SIKA- shift from traditional support for vocational programming West and GIRoA quality requirements.
GENDER MAINSTREAMING 60 ACKU
Report Writing Training in Herat Province 61 GENDER MAINSTREAMING Monitoring and Evaluation
PERFORMANCE MONITORING PLAN (PMP)
Performance Management Plan (PMP) The PMP was developed based on the contract AID-306-C-12-00004 between AECOM and USAID, dated January 29, 2012. It was subsequently revised in June 2014 pursuant to lessons learned through the implementation of programming during the base period as well as recommendations received from the Measuring Impact of Stabilization Initiatives (MISTI) mid-term evaluation conducted in February 2014.
The SIKA-West program operated under the hypothesis that “if the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) is better able to provide for communities’ stabilization needs, then the transition to long-term Afghan-led development programming will ultimately be more successful.” SIKA-West employed the following “Theory of Change” to link the program’s short-term activities to its longer term stabilization and governance objectives: “Support the rapid transition of Afghanistan to a more stable and productive state, through the promotion of democracy, rule of law, and sustainable economic development that is responsive to citizen needs.”
The PMP presents a results framework broken down by SIKA-West’s specific set of Intermediate Results (IRs) and sub-IRs, which in turn are related to indicators. The PMP includes a broad array of standard and custom performance indicators to track
ACKUKEY RESULTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS • 171 weekly updates, 40 monthly reports, 14 quarterly reports and 79 success stories produced and approved by USAID. • Collaborated with and supported MRRD DSWs to conduct 377 grant- funded project site visits, to assess ongoing programming and provide feedback to the provincial DRRD offices. • 75 formal M&E trainings provided to DSWs, DGOs, and DEs, covering project site assessments, report writing, basics of monitoring, Trackstick use, project photography, and GPS collection. On-site mentoring further supported all formal trainings. • Multi-tiered monitoring approach with internal and external assessments employed to regularly review and improve programming components.
MONITORING AND EVALUATION 62 the progress of individual program components and assess 1. monitor progress toward its overall programming strategic the impact of SIKA-West programming. The indicators were objectives; divided into two major categories: 2. monitor overall program implementation in line with 1. Strategic/program indicators (foreign assistance framework, contractual indicators; and STAB-U, gender) and custom program indicators 3. learn from both successes and obstacles and adjust 2. Indicators by level: impact, outcome, and output indicators implementation tactics as needed to ensure program success. INTERNAL MONITORING, VERIFICATION, REPORTING, AND ASSESSMENT
One of the goals throughout the life of the program was to provide metrics on a range of key programming activities that enabled SIKA-West to:
Project in the Numbers
The following table shows SIKA-West’s progress toward achieving PMP indicator targets:
Target Target Target Cumulative Cumulative Indicator Name and Number Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Target Result S1: Number of sub-national government entities receiving 42 110 360 512 854 USG assistance to improve their performance S2: Percent of Afghans reporting that their district NA NA 60% 60% 70% government is responsive to the needs of local people S3: Number of District Entities with USG assistance for NA 233 75 308 906 citizens to engage their sub-national government S4: Number of activities with community contribution 72 201 100 373 535 12,562 (9,529 S5: Number of Afghans trained (see indicators 2.3, 3.3, NA 5,272 5,000 10,272 male, 3,033 4.4) female) 13,424 (13,384 S6: Number of persons employed by stabilization program NA 479 1,000 1,479 male, 40 activities ACKU female) 343,053 S7: Number of person-days of employment created 9,000 46,800 30,000 85,800 (339,415 male, 3,638 female) S8: Number of stabilization activities implemented 72 201 75 348 535 through grants to district entities (see indicator 4.3) S9: Number of SOIs against which stabilization activities NA 12 7 19 22 have been executed S10: Number of stabilization work sessions conducted for 88 100 130 318 319 district entities (see indicator 1.2) S11: Number of districts in which SAM is utilized to 7 10 16 16 16 develop programs (see indicator 1.2) 1,459 (1,320 S12: Number of GIRoA officials trained in aspects of NA 323 100 423 male, 139 government administration (see indicators 2.3 and 3.3) female)
63 MONITORING AND EVALUATION Target Target Target Cumulative Cumulative Indicator Name and Number Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Target Result S13: Number of female participants in USG-assisted programs designed to increase access to productive NA 1,525 100 1,625 3,028 economic resources and basic services (assets, credit, income, or employment) S14: Number of interventions that increased participation 27 36 100 163 173 of women in district entity activities (KSWs) 1.1 Number of partnered district governments (and percentage of total) that show improved understanding of 10 10 16 16 100% 16/16 local SOIs 1. 2 Number of stabilization work sessions conducted 88 100 130 318 319 with district entities 1.3 Number of activities included in District Project 70 240 75 385 650 Portfolios as a result of stabilization workshops 2.1 Number of District Entities able to access stabilization services provided by GIRoA organizations and line NA 16 16 16 16 departments 2.2 Number of SOI-mitigating activities that are implemented in collaboration with providers identified in 7 10 5 22 23 the Service Providers Catalogue 2.3 Number of people trained on Service Provider 986 (907 male, NA NA 100 100 Catalog usage 79 female) 3.1 Number of people (percentage) reporting improvement in the responsiveness of GIRoA district NA NA 65% 65% 69% entities with regards to SOI resolution 3.2 Number of public outreach or public consultation 9 16 24 49 535 activities conducted by DEs with USG assistance 3,222 (2,630 3.3 Number of people trained in communications and 300 1,291 500 2,091 male, 592 outreach female) 3.4 Number of PAs and DEs with a communication 9 8 15 32 27 strategy or plan in place 4.1 Percentage of people reporting improvement in NA NA 60% 60% 65% service delivery by DEs and PAs 343,053 4.2 Number of person-days of employment created 9,000 46,800 30,000 85,800 (339,415 male, through SIKA-West interventions 3,638 female) 4.3 Number of grant activities completed in support of 72 120 75 267 535 stabilization goals ACKU 104,530 4.4 Number of person-days of training implemented 280 9,600 3,000 12,880 (34,043 male, through grants 70,487 female)
MONITORING AND EVALUATION 64 MONITORING AND VERIFICATION
SIKA-West employed a multi-tiered approach to collecting MRRD DISTRICT SOCIAL WORKERS and verifying program data: • SIKA-West supported its MRRD partners by recruiting, employing, and training an additional a) All field programming ctivitiesa were verified by district twelve DSWs to assess stabilization and governance and provincial SIKA-West personnel before being cross- programming, enabling its partners to have a minimum checked against programming department field reports. of at least two DSWs per target district. At the Only those activities that were cross-checked, verified, conclusion of our program, SIKA-West requested and authenticated with supporting documentation were that MRRD hire its contracted DSWs directly to recorded and uploaded into M&E databases. continue to benefit from their program training, field experience, and skill sets. They are being considered b) Authenticated records included documents with original for employment, depending on future NABDP or signatures, GPS and date/time-stamped photographs, NSP funding. and use of Trackstick technology (which recorded the movements of personnel). • The MRRD DSWs played an integral role in KSW engagement, taking part in discussions on community c) The SIKA-West HQ team cross-checked their M&E field grievances, providing updates on existing NSP and personnel reports by contacting stakeholders at random NABDP programming within the 16 districts, and to confirm that events had taken place, site visits were enabling SIKA-West to complement GIRoA-led conducted, resources were distributed, and so forth. district development programming and avoid any duplication of efforts. d) District Entity stakeholders reported on field activities • With support from SIKA-West and MRRD’s CLDD, at the monthly KSWs, providing SIKA-West personnel the DSWs proved to be an effective monitoring tool the opportunity to cross-reference their updates against for the four provincial DRRD partners, providing program department reports. confirmations on programming activities and enabling MRRD to stay current on SIKA-West programming. e) Both of SIKA-West’s MRRD and IDLG partners received weekly updates on program progress, which was reviewed and confirmed by their respective regional coordinators. future courses of action. To facilitate increased engagement, SIKA-West program activities were verified by MISTI, SIKA-West translated program reports for MRRD and its third-party M&E provider, to confirm that reported IDLG partners at the national, provincial, and district level. programming was in fact taking place. Reporting approaches were as follows:
REPORTING a) Weekly, monthly, and quarterly programming reports were shared with USAID, MRRD, and IDLG (national, provincial, SIKA-West ensured that program reporting was transparent and district level). and shared with all respective stakeholders, providing the opportunity for review, feedback, and recommendationsACKU on b) Promotional materials (photo captions, before-and-afters, KEY RESULTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
• Circulated reports and success stories in local language to national, provincial, and district stakeholders. • Shared and publicized USAID-approved program materials through MRRD and IDLG social media outlets (websites and Facebook), enabling program partners to reach a larger audience when promoting GIRoA-led stabilization and governance programming. • Collaborated with and supported MRRD DSWs to conduct 377 grant-funded project site visits, to assess ongoing programming and provide feedback to the provincial DRRD offices. • 75 formal M&E trainings provided to DSWs, DGOs, and District Entities, covering project site assessments; report writing, basics of monitoring, Trackstick use, project photography, and GPS collection. All formal trainings were further supported by on-site mentoring.
65 MONITORING AND EVALUATION snapshots, etc.) were translated and shared with MRRD e) MISTI Monthly Verification Reports: Provided and IDLG national, provincial, and district counterparts, independent monitoring and verification data on SIKA- enabling them to promote GIRoA services through their West activities and feedback associated with those findings. own social media outlets. By the close of the project, a total of 165 grant-funded projects were verified. c) Weekly program updates on SIKA-West grant-funded infrastructure and vocational programming were provided f) MISTI Wave Reports: MISTI undertook five cycles to MRRD and IDLG counterparts and uploaded into GIRoA of assessments that analyzed, monitored, and evaluated databases to inform future district development activities. SIKA-West’s impact within its target districts. The evaluations focused on the overall stability and resilience d) Regular information uploads to USAID’s Afghan Info4 trends and provided insights on the evolving program and TraiNet5 databases provided updates on program stakeholders’ perceptions. progress, funds expended, stakeholders engaged, and beneficiaries identified. g) MISTI Mid-Term Evaluation: This evaluation (January 2012 – November 2013) assessed the program’s PROGRAM ASSESSMENTS performance, relevance, and success within the context of stabilization and governance programming and informed SIKA-West employed internal and third-party assessments future program management decisions. to regularly review current program performance against existing PMP indicators and inform the future direction of h) MISTI Final Evaluation: This evaluation (December programming components. 2013 – August 31, 2015) assessed the overall performance and impact in achieving strategic objectives and will inform Assessments included the following: the Office of Democracy and Governance (ODG) and USAID Mission management on whether SIKA-West a) Baseline Assessment: Provided an understanding of achieved the desired results. the perceptions of base period district residents toward GIRoA prior to the launch of SIKA-West activities. b) Mid-Term Assessment: Designed to measure SIKA- MISTI FINDINGS West’s performance in capacity building, perceptions of service delivery, and local government legitimacy. As Mid-Term Assessment: (a) SIKA-West has been with the baseline assessment, this mid-term exercise successful in including women and ensuring their continued to inform programming activities until the end participation in the KSW process. Within the cultural of the contract. norms of Afghanistan, this is a considerable achievement; (b) the monthly KSW meetings were effective at c) Communications and Public Outreach Focus attracting the communities to the district center, Groups: Provided feedback on the effectiveness of DGO increasing the authority and exposure of district entities communication and public outreach activities in selected to their constituents. districts. The findings obtained were used to inform future communications and public outreach programming. Please Verification Reports: 154 grant-funded projects see Annex F. ACKU(95%) were executed as reported, with the final 1 pending MISTI reverifications. d) District Government Capacity Index Assessments: Designed to assess DGO organizational Wave Reports: (a) Perceptions of the Afghan and management capabilities, identify gaps in technical government continue to improve since the baseline, capacities, and provide recommendations to inform with nearly seven in ten respondents saying the Afghan future DGO governance capacity building efforts. Please government is well regarded in their area; (b) since the see Annex H. baseline, respondents have become more likely to believe that that their district governor, district government, and 4 The Afghan Info database is a web-based system for data relating to local village leaders are responsive to the needs of local number and value of grant-funded activities and associate beneficiaries; people in their area. number of trainees; and number of Afghan nationals, Third-Country Nationals (TCNs), and U.S. Citizens employed on the program. 5 The TraiNet system is a web-based system for data on capacity-building activities, including types of training, location, start and end dates, trainees, and value of the training provided.
MONITORING AND EVALUATION 66 ACKU
Kushk-E Rabat Sangi District Government organized a Hashar (Public Work) and removed snow from a 3-KM Road in Doab Sufla Village 67 MONITORING AND EVALUATION Way Forward
Challenges, Lessons Learned, and Recommendations
AFGHANIZED PROGRAMMING APPROACHES
When launching SIKA-West stabilization and governance programming, some materials included contractual and PMP language that proved difficult to translate and was not easily understood by provincial and district partners. To address this, SIKA-West was proactive in revising programming terminology, ensuring that the program’s Afghan partners understood and were able to incorporate this language into their general discussions and approaches on GIRoA-led governance and district development efforts (e.g. Sources of Instability/SOIs was changed to Community Major Problems/CMPs, Mitigation Activities was changed to Solutions, etc.).
An additional concern for SIKA-West was to avoid the establishment of new entities that would prove to be unsustainable and instead to employ existing GIRoA structures and approaches to implement programming. With KSWs, the program accomplished this task, incorporating DDAs (and their district development programming updates under NABDP) and CDCs (with their NSP programming updates) under one forum. This enabled district government leadership to have a comprehensive overview of ongoing district development programming.
Future programming should focus on the Afghanized approach, incorporating clear terminology that can be easily understood and translated by provincial and district ACKUpopulations and utilizing existing GIRoA structures, all with the intended effect of maximizing available resources and strengthening sustainability.
AREA OF OPERATION SELECTION
During the SIKA-West base period, a number of districts awarded did not match elements of the USAID-approved priority district criteria, particularly (a) functioning CDCs/DDAs and (b) permissive security conditions allowing MRRD, USAID, and the IP to effectively operate and monitor SIKA activities in the district. These districts selected by MRRD, IDLG, and USAID at the national level, without input from provincial and district government authorities, were Khak-e-Safed and Bala Baluk (Farah Province), Shindand (Herat Province), and Shahrak (Ghor Province). While this was challenging, SIKA-West did support a range of stabilization and governance programming within these areas but could have been more effective as a program had it been engaged in other districts that closely matched the criteria provided (e.g.,
WAY FORWARD 68 SIKA-West was required to withdraw from Khak-e-Safed INSECURITY WITHIN TARGET DISTRICTS District in April 2014 when the DGO was attacked, overrun, and destroyed by insurgents). SIKA-West was faced with a range of security concerns over the life of the program and suffered both kidnappings When USAID exercised the option period and expanded and injuries to its personnel over the past three and a SIKA-West programming into six more districts, SIKA- half years (ultimately all personnel were safely returned West wanted to ensure that previous oversights made in to the program). To mitigate the risks to staff within district selection were not repeated. Working closely with these environments, the SIKA-West Operations/Security its partners, SIKA-West ensured that provincial and district Department took a proactive stance to establish key working GIRoA actors were able to provide input, based on existing relationships with local ANSF, which provided key information USAID criteria. This approach was quite effective, enabling on district conditions and guided field programming actions. MRRD and IDLG to make informed selection decisions that SIKA-West also shared these updates with the USAID provided SIKA-West with districts that closely matched Mission and were applauded for the detailed updates the district criteria. When future local governance and provided. It is recommended that future programs continue stabilization programming is designed, SIKA-West recommend to build on these relationships with local ANSF to assist their that district areas of operation be selected in coordination programming efforts in insecure environments. with provincial and district entities, who are best placed to provide valuable and sound feedback, which may prove VALUE OF GIROA LIAISON UNITS invaluable to Implementing Partners (IPs) and can have a significant impact on the overall success of their programming. When SIKA-West began provincial and district engagement during the base period, it did not have the support of existing IMPLANTED PERSONNEL MODEL MRRD and IDLG SIKA units. Without these units in place, communication with IDLG and MRRD ministries was often A key component of the SIKA-West program was to provide difficult as it was unclear within the ministries who would its MRRD and IDLG partners with implanted personnel at take a leading role in supporting the program. The lack of the provincial and district level, enabling them to support key dedicated SIKA units affected communication efforts and programming components and improve the overall delivery of made it problematic, at times, to obtain ministry support basic services. A great deal of program resources and capacity- when addressing programming challenges. These issues were building efforts were invested, and as the SIKA-West program quickly resolved with the establishment of the SIKA units, came to an end, the program approached its partners to which proved invaluable in supporting SIKA-West’s field work, determine whether a select number could be employed by communicating program objectives to provincial and district GIRoA so that they may benefit from SIKA-West’s investment. GIRoA partners, and ensuring that program reports and SIKA-West did not secure any agreements but took updates were regularly shared with the respective ministries. independent steps to promote available IDLG and MRRD In the event that future USAID programming involves vacancies internally, with limited success. It is recommended partnering with GIRoA, it is recommended that the SIKA unit that, when future USAID programming involves supporting model be emulated. GIRoA actors with embedded personnel, due consideration be given to having advance agreements in place that allow these personnel to fill available vacancies within GIRoA at the conclusion of the program, enabling a continued and sustainable benefit. ACKU
69 WAY FORWARD RECOMMENDATIONS
99 Programming approaches should be “Afghanized’ to maximize sustainability efforts. Program language, structures, field activities, and other elements should, to the extent possible, follow or integrate with existing GIRoA approaches to maximize the use of existing resources, avoid program duplication, and strengthen sustainability. 99 When partnered with GIRoA, the selection of potential areas of operation should include input from provincial and district entities that live and work within those regions prior to final decisions being made. A number of districts selected during SIKA-West’s base period did not include provincial or district input. 99 If unable to secure an agreement with MRRD and IDLG partners to hire formerly embedded program personnel, it is recommended that consideration be given to formalize such agreement between GIRoA and USAID in advance so that continued benefits may be drawn from personnel who have received a great deal of financial investment. 99 The MRRD and IDLG SIKA unit model proved to be effective in improving coordination between the SIKA-West program and the MRRD and IDLG ministries. It is recommended that this model be followed with future USAID programming (where partnered with GIRoA). 99 To mitigate the risks of programming in non-permissive environments, future programs need to establish strong working relationships with ANSF, who are best placed to provide accurate and timely information on security conditions within the region.
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A Chaghcharan Resident Reading an SMS Sent by the Ghor Deputy Provincial Governor 71 WAY FORWARD ACKU
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